The Slytherin Side of Things: Year 2
by xxlilmusicxx
Summary: The truth about Harry and Alexis Potter has finally revealed itself, but some people are just too stubborn to believe it. With the reminder of their ponce of a teacher and the Heir of Slytherin, and the Ministry butting into their business, there was just no such thing as a normal year. Sequel to The Slytherin Side of Things: Year 1...
1. The Worst Birthday

**And now I present to you the second part to 'The Slytherin Side of Things'! I hope you guys enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Harry Potter; it all belongs to J.K Rowling and Warner Brothers Inc. However, I do own Alex.

**Pairings:** All are canon with the exception of my Theo/OC pairing, and possible Blaise/Daphne.

* * *

The following night, Alex and Theo noticed the strange behavior at the Slytherin table. Daphne, Blaise, Astoria, Malfoy, Marcus and Adrian in particular, looked rather smug.

Theo blinked. "What did we miss?"

"You two do anything interesting last night?" Blaise smirked.

"Not really." Alex shrugged, and Adrian leaned forward with a smirk. Both Alex and Theo narrowed their eyes at him.

"So Alex," he began. "I was wondering if... you were willing to give us another shot?"

Alex blinked in surprise and Theo glowered at the Slytherin. Everyone else turned to them curiously - including the adults and Professors.

Theo wrapped his arm around Alex's shoulders possessively, "Leave my girlfriend alone, Pucey!"

...

...

...

The response was instantaneous.

"GIRLFRIEND!?" Harry, Sirius and Ron were quick to stand and stare daggers at the Slytherin boy, while everyone erupted to whispers. Some Gryffindors and Slytherins were passing galleons - a bet, of course, - more than a few people gossiping and no doubt starting the rumors.

...

...

...

"Everyone... SHUT UP!" yelled Daphne, and the hall fell silent, staring at the Slytherin girl with wide eyes. People were stating to annoy her, even if she anticipated their reactions. "My best friends are together, deal with it. If I ever hear a single bad rumor about either of them, the one who spread it would be at the Hospital Wing faster than you can say 'oops'." She glared at the three who voiced their protests. "You can all talk to her later - Now, sit!"

When Harry, Ron and Sirius did so, Alex shook her head fondly, and Blaise laughed.

"I've rubbed off on you." said Alex.

"And we're not sure if that's a good thing." Malfoy drawled, earning a thwap on the arm from Alex. "Bloody hell, woman! What is it with you and hitting me?"

"It's my form of entertainment."

Malfoy grunted, "Can we get on with the book now?"

"Right, Mr. Malfoy." said Dumbledore. "The second book is called _The Potter Twins and The Chamber of_ _Secrets._"

The twins both groaned simultaneously. "No! Not Lockhart!"

Those around them laughed.

"I'll read!" said Hannah, and the book was levitated to her. "**The Worst Birthday.**"

**Not for the first time, an argument had broken out over breakfast at number four, Privet Drive. Mr. Vernon Dursley had been woken in the early hours of the morning by a loud, hooting noise from his nephew, Harry, and niece, Alex's room.**

"Hedwig is never loud without a reason." Dean said clearly remembering when she stayed in the boys dorm.

"Midnight is like that when she's angry." said Tracy, snickering when she remembered Midnight attacking Pansy on more than one occasion in the girl's dorms.

**"Third time this week!" he roared across the table. "If you can't control those owls, it'll have to go!"**

**The twins tried, yet again, to explain.**

**"They're bored," Harry said. "They're used to flying around outside. If Alex and I could just let them out at night -"**

**"Not to mention that they need to hunt for more food." Alex added.**

"They didn't let her out." Hagrid bellowed.

**"Do I look stupid?" snarled Uncle Vernon, a bit of fried egg dangling from his bushy moustache.**

People cracked up, particularly Harry, Alex and the others who had seen Vernon.

"Is that a trick question?" Alex snorted.

**"I know what'll happen if those owls are let out." He exchanged dark looks with his wife, Petunia.**

**_Paranoid idiots._ Alex sneered in her head, and Harry had to keep himself from snorting out loud.**

**Instead, he replied, _You're starting to sound like the Slytherins._**

**_In case you haven't noticed, I am one._ **

**"We're not going to send out letters, if that's what you're worried about." Alex spoke in a faux polite tone. Though Harry could sense the edge to it.**

"They weren't smart enough to take it as a warning." Harry sighed.

**Vernon pointed a beefy, accusing finger at her. "And what makes you think I'll believe that rubbish, girl?"**

**Harry tried to argue as well but his words were drowned by a long, loud belch from the Dursleys' son, Dudley.**

**"I want more bacon."**

"No manners what so ever." Flitwick grumbled.

**"There's more in the frying pan, sweetums," said Aunt Petunia, turning misty eyes on her massive son.**

Fred and George started cackling.

**"We must feed you up while we've got the chance...**

Madam Pomfrey made a noise of disgust.

**I don't like the sound of that school food..."**

**"Nonsense, Petunia, I never went hungry when I was at Smeltings," said Uncle Vernon heartily. "Dudley gets enough, don't you, son?"**

**Dudley, who was so large his bottom drooped over either side of the kitchen chair,**

Several girls and a few guys looked sick.

**grinned and turned to Harry.**

**"Pass the frying pan."**

"No manners." Luna said, not at all her usual dreamy self.

**"You've forgotten the magic word," said Harry irritably, and Alex smacked her forehead in frustration.**

"Oh, here we go." Alex rolled her eyes.

**The effect of this simple sentence on the rest of the family was incredible: Dudley gasped and fell off his chair with a crash that shook the whole kitchen;**

People laughed.

**Mrs. Dursley gave a small scream and clapped her hands to her mouth;**

"Drama queen." scoffed Astoria.

**Mr. Dursley jumped to his feet, veins throbbing in his temples.**

**"I meant `please'!" said Harry quickly. "I didn't mean -"**

Hermione sighed. "Oh, Harry."

**"WHAT HAVE I TOLD YOU," thundered his uncle, spraying spit over the table,** ("EWW!" squealed Lavender.) **"ABOUT SAYING THE `M' WORD IN OUR HOUSE?"**

"The 'M' word?" Malfoy repeated questioningly, causing a round of laughs.

**"But I -"**

**Alex was quick to jump to her brother's defense.**

"As always." Harry and Ron grinned.

**"He didn't say -"**

**"HOW DARE YOU THREATEN DUDLEY!" roared Uncle Vernon, pounding the table with his fist.**

Eyebrows raised at that.

**"He wasn't -"**

**"I just -"**

**"I WARNED YOU! I WILL NOT TOLERATE MENTION OF YOUR ABNORMALITIES UNDER THIS ROOF!"**

"Abnormality." Theo said in a dangerous growl that told people if the Slytherin had anything to do with it the Dursleys would be cursed into oblivion.

**Harry stared from his purple-faced uncle to his pale aunt, who was trying to heave Dudley to his feet, to his sister, who's matching green eyes were blazing.**

"They're dead." chorused most of the hall.

**"All right," said Harry, taking a hold of Alex's hand to calm her down, "all right. . . "**

**Uncle Vernon sat back down, breathing like a winded rhinoceros and watching Harry and Alex closely out of the corners of his small, sharp eyes.**

**Ever since the twins had come home for the summer holidays, Uncle Vernon had been treating them like bombs that might go off at any moment,**

"Your Potters, one of the stongest families in the Wizarding world. Technically, you two are ticking time bombs." said Hermione.

**because Harry and Alexis Potter weren't normal children. As a matter of fact, they were as not normal as it is possible to be.**

**Harry Potter was a wizard, and Alex Potter was a witch**

"Muggle perspective." Hermione said before anyone could open their mouths.

**- both fresh from their first year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. And if the Dursleys were unhappy to have them back for the holidays, it was nothing to how either twin felt.**

"That's not right." Marcus grumbled.

**They missed Hogwarts so much it was like having a constant stomach-ache.**

Snape twitched slightly, that was how he use to feel.

**They missed the castle, with its secret passageways and ghosts, their classes (though perhaps not Snape, the Potions master, in Harry's case),**

"I would be worried if Harry actually missed him." Alex snickered and Snape raised an eyebrow.

Yes, it would have been awkward indeed.

**the mail arriving by owl, eating banquets in the Great Hall, Harry sleeping in his four-poster bed in the tower dormitory, Alex lazing around in the dungeon dormitory as she listened to her roommates chatter, visiting the gamekeeper, Hagrid, in his cabin next to the Forbidden Forest in the grounds, and, especially, Quidditch, the most popular sport in the wizarding world (six tall goal posts, four flying balls, and fourteen players on broomsticks).**

"I can't believe it. You never mentioned us, Harry." Ron mock-pouted.

"Yeah, Alex, what kind of friend are you." added Blaise.

**All the twins' spell books, wands, robes, cauldrons, and top-of-the-line Nimbus Two Thousand broomsticks had been locked in a cupboard under the stairs by Uncle Vernon the instant Harry and Alex had come home.**

**What did the Dursleys care if Harry lost his place on the House Quidditch team because he hadn't practiced all summer?**

"No one practices during the summer." Angelina shook her head.

Oliver snorted. "Like I would just let you off my team, Potter."

**What was it to the Dursleys if Harry went back to school without any of his homework done?**

"You did get it done though." said McGonagall.

**Alex couldn't honestly care less about either.**

Harry rolled his eyes.

**Flint, the captain of the Slytherin Quidditch team, would probably chuck her out the moment he would find a better - and preferably male - flyer during the tryouts at the beginning of the year.**

"No bloody way." Marcus shook his head. "You're actually good, believe it or not."

Katie raised an eyebrow. "Oh? Then why'd you chuck out Higgs for Malfoy?" she asked, ignoring Malfoy's indignant expression.

"His father would have revoked my captainship." said Flint.

**The Dursleys were what wizards called Muggles (not a drop of magical blood in their veins), and as far as they were concerned, having a witch and wizard in the family was a matter of deepest shame.**

"Filthy muggles." Pansy sneered.

"Watch your mouth, Parkinson." hissed Alex.

**Uncle Vernon had even padlocked Harry's owl, Hedwig, inside her cage, and chained Midnights ankles to one of the perches, to stop them from carrying messages to anyone in the wizarding world.**

A lot of cries of outrage carried through the hall. That was animal cruelty.

**Harry and Alex looked nothing like the rest of the family.**

"Lucky for me." Theo whispered, pecking Alex on the cheek.

**Uncle Vernon was large and neckless, with an enormous black moustache; Aunt Petunia was horse-faced and bony; Dudley was blond, pink, and porky. The twins, on the other hand, were both small and skinny, with brilliant green eyes and jet-black hair. Harry's hair was always untidy, while Alex's was long and wavy. Harry also wore round glasses. And on the twins' foreheads were thin, lightning-shaped scars.**

"And yet somehow you two pull it off." Lavender said and Pavarti nodded in agreement.

**It was this scar that made twins so particularly unusual, even for a wizard and witch.**

**This scars ere the only hints of Harry and Alex's very mysterious past, of the reason they had been left on the Dursleys' doorstep eleven years before.**

"And it makes me hate him even more." Harry scowled.

**At the age of one year old, the twins had somehow survived a curse from the greatest Dark sorcerer of all time, Lord Voldemort, whose name most witches and wizards still feared to speak.**

**Their parents had died in Voldemort's attack, but Harry and Alex had escaped with their lightning scars, and somehow - nobody understood why Voldemort's powers had been destroyed the instant he had failed to kill Harry and Alex. So the twins had been brought up by their dead mother's sister and her husband. They had spent ten years with the Dursleys, never understanding why they kept making odd things happen without meaning to, believing the Dursleys' story that they had got their scars in the car crash that had killed their parents.**

People growled at the reminder.

**Although Alex did have the need to point out that it was rather peculiar that the scars on their foreheads were too much alike.**

**And then, exactly a year ago, Hogwarts had written to the twins, and the whole story had come out. Harry and Alex had taken up their place at a wizard school, where they and their scars were famous ... but now the school year was over, and they were back with the Dursleys for the summer, back to being treated like dogs that had rolled in something smelly.**

Sirius and Remus growled angrily.

**The Dursleys hadn't even remembered that today happened to be Harry and Alex's twelfth birthday. Of course, their hopes hadn't been high; they'd never given the twins a real present, let alone a cake - but to ignore it completely...**

More hisses and growls erupted from the hall.

**At that moment, Uncle Vernon cleared his throat importantly and said, "Now, as we all know, today is a very important day." Alex raised an eyebrow in surprise, and Harry looked up, hardly daring to believe it.**

"Then don't." Alicia said bluntly.

**"This could well be the day I make the biggest deal of my career, "said Uncle Vernon.**

"Horrid man, forgetting his own nephew and niece's birthday!" Molly cried in outrage.

**Alex's eyes dropped to glare at her plate, and Harry went back to his toast. Of course, he thought bitterly, Uncle Vernon was talking about the stupid dinner party. He'd been talking of nothing else for two weeks. Some rich builder and his wife were coming to dinner and Uncle Vernon was hoping to get a huge order from him (Uncle Vernon's company made drills).**

**"I think we should run through the schedule one more time," said Uncle Vernon. "We should all be in position at eight o'clock. Petunia, you will be -?"**

"They plan their parties?" Millicent cried incredulously.

**"In the lounge," said Aunt Petunia promptly, "waiting to welcome them graciously to our home."**

**"Good, good. And Dudley?"**

**"I'll be waiting to open the door." Dudley put on a foul, simpering smile. "May I take your coats, Mr. and Mrs. Mason?"**

"No, thank you. I don't like pigs." Percy said and people laughed. Fred and George smiled up at their brother for the first time since the reading started.

**"They'll love him!" cried Aunt Petunia rapturously.**

"She delusional." Oliver sighed.

**"Excellent, Dudley," said Uncle Vernon. Then he rounded on Harry. "And you?"**

**"I'll be in my bedroom, making no noise and pretending I'm not there," said Harry tonelessly.**

**"Exactly," said Uncle Vernon nastily. "I will lead them into the lounge, introduce you, Petunia, and pour them -drinks. At eight fifteen-"**

"This is ridiculous." Cho shook her head.

**"I'll announce dinner," said Aunt Petunia.**

**"And, Dudley, you'll say -"**

**"May I take you through to the dining room, Mrs. Mason?" said Dudley, offering his fat arm to an invisible woman.**

The hall guffawed.

**"My perfect little gentleman!" sniffed Aunt Petunia.**

"Delusional was an understatement, Wood." Marcus snorted.

**"And you?" said Uncle Vernon viciously to Alex.**

**"I'll be in my room, making no noise and pretending I'm not there," said Alex dully.**

**"Precisely. Now, we should aim to get in a few good compliments at dinner. Petunia, any ideas?"**

A lot of people looked disbelieving.

"They plan _compliments?_" Ginny exclaimed. "Who does that? Not even the Slytherins do that!"

"Thanks a bunch, Weaslette." Blaise commented sarcastically.

**"Vernon tells me you're a wonderful golfer, Mr. Mason...Do tell me where you bought your dress, Mrs. Mason..."**

"Not bad." Malfoy commented grudgingly.

**"Perfect. . . Dudley?"**

**"How about -'We had to write an essay about our hero at school, Mr. Mason, and I wrote about you."'**

That sent waves of laughter through the room.

**This was too much for both Aunt Petunia and the twins.**

People sent them odd looks.

**Aunt Petunia burst into tears and hugged her son, while Harry and Alex ducked under the table so the Dursleys wouldn't see them laughing.**

"Of course." Ron chortled.

**"And you two?"**

**Harry fought to keep his face straight as he emerged,**

"I bet that was hard." Susan sniggered.

**though Alex managed to conceal her humor in an instant. ****If Harry didn't know better, he'd say she was bipolar.**

Alex scowled.

**"We'll be in our room, making no noise and pretending we're not there," the twins chorused, almost robotically.**

**"Too right, you will," said Uncle Vernon forcefully. "The Masons don't know anything about you and it's going to stay that way. When dinner's over, you take Mrs. Mason back to the lounge for coffee, Petunia, and I'll bring the subject around to drills. With any luck, I'll have the deal signed and sealed before the News at Ten. We'll be shopping for a vacation home in Majorca this time tomorrow."**

**Neither Harry nor Alex could feel too excited about this. They didn't think the Dursleys would like them any better in Majorca than they did on Privet Drive.**

"They would take us, but they would just make us work."

**"Right - I'm off into town to pick up the dinner jackets for Dudley and me. And you," he snarled at the twins. "You stay out of your aunt's way while she's cleaning."**

**Harry left through the back door, Alex trailing behind him with a pair of gardenish shears Aunt Petunia had given her on the way out. It was a brilliant, sunny day. They crossed the lawn, slumped down on the garden bench, and Harry sang under his breath:**

**"Happy birthday to us ... happy birthday to us. . ."**

"Awww..." The females in the room cooed sadly. Ginny glared at them all and rested her head on Harry's shoulder. Sirius, who was on Harry's other side, snickered.

**No cards, no presents, and he and Alex would be spending the evening pretending not to exist. He gazed miserably into the hedge. He had never felt so lonely. More than anything else at Hogwarts, more even than playing Quidditch, Harry missed his best friends, Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger.**

"There we are." Hermione smiled.

**They, however, didn't seem to be missing him at all. Neither of them had written to him all summer, even though Ron had said he was going to ask Harry to come and stay.**

"Explanations are in the book." Harry said before people could even begin on accusations.

**Countless times, Harry had been on the point of unlocking Hedwig's cage by magic and sending her to Ron and Hermione with a letter, but it wasn't worth the risk. Underage wizards weren't allowed to use magic outside of school. Harry hadn't told the Dursleys this; he knew it was only their terror that he might turn them all into dung beetles that stopped them from locking him in the cupboard under the stairs with his wand and broomstick.**

There were a lot of angry mutterings.

**Alex had expected this. They despised her brother, who she had been defending since the beginning of the school year, so she wasn't exactly welcome. Her only friends were Daphne Greengrass and Blaise Zabini. But it seems like they had already forgotten her.**

"But we sent you like a dozen letters." said Blaise, confused.

**For the first couple of weeks back, Harry and Alex had enjoyed muttering nonsense words under their breath and watching Dudley tearing out of the room as fast as his fat legs would carry him.**

People snickered.

**But the long silence from their friends had made the twins feel so cut off from the magical world that even taunting Dudley had lost its appeal –**

"You were depressed." Ernie said, slightly shocked.

**and now they had forgotten the twins' birthday.**

"So you didn't receive the scarfs I sent for you two?" Daphne practically screeched.

"What scarf?" asked Alex.

Harry blinked. "You got me a scarf?"

Blaise discreetly glared at Harry when Daphne flushed. "Uh..."

**What wouldn't he give now for a message from Hogwarts? From any witch or wizard? They'd almost be glad of a sight of their archenemy, Draco Malfoy, just to be sure it hadn't all been a dream …**

Malfoy's eyebrows shot up at the mention of him.

**And that was saying something. Alex, despite sharing a common room with the git, utterly despised the blonde boy with every fibre of her being.**

"What changed?" asked Ron.

Alex shrugged. "Don't get me wrong, he's still a git -"

_"OI!"_

"- but he's been rather tolerable."

**Not that their whole year at Hogwarts had been fun. At the very end of last term, Harry and Alex had come face-to-face with none other than Lord Voldemort himself. Voldemort might be a ruin of his former self, but he was still terrifying, still cunning, still determined to regain power. The twins had slipped through Voldemort's clutches for a second time, but it had been a narrow escape, and even now, weeks later, they kept waking in the night, drenched in cold sweat, wondering where Voldemort was now, remembering his livid face, his wide, mad eyes…**

People winced at the thought.

**Harry suddenly sat bolt upright on the garden bench.**

**He had been staring absent-mindedly into the hedge - and the hedge was **_**staring back**_**.**

People sat up straighter.

**Harry quickly, bet discreetly nudged Alex. The girl blinked at him in confusion before following his gaze. She paled slightly at the sight. Two enormous green eyes had appeared among the leaves. Harry jumped to his feet just as a jeering voice floated across the lawn.**

**"I know what day it is," sang Dudley, waddling toward them.**

**The huge eyes blinked and vanished.**

"What -?" Arthur commented questioningly.

**"What?" said Harry, not taking his eyes off the spot where they had been.**

**"I know what day it is," Dudley repeated, coming right up to him.**

"Ah, he's finally learned the days of the week then." Theo sneered.

**"Well done," said Alex, a bit bitingly. "So you've finally learned the days of the week."**

"You two are made for each other." Adrian shook his head.

Remus chuckled at the blush that adorned his goddaughter's cheeks.

**"Today's your birthday," sneered Dudley. "How come you haven't got any cards? Haven't you even got friends at that freak place?"**

**"Better not let your mum hear you talking about our school," said Harry coolly.**

"You can say almost anything coolly, even when you're pressured." Hermione mused.

**Alex's lip curled into a slight sneer, "Oh yes, wouldn't want her ickle duddykins to be infected by our freakishness."**

"You've been spending too much time with my cousin, I suspect." Tonks raised an eyebrow.

**Dudley hitched up his trousers, which were slipping down his fat bottom.**

"EEEEWWWWW." Several girls squealed.

**"Why're you staring at the hedge?" he said suspiciously.**

**" We're trying to decide what would be the best spell to set it on fire," said Harry.**

**"Or perhaps transform it into a flock of birds that would peck at you endlessly." Alex added thoughtfully.**

**Dudley stumbled backward at once, a look of panic on his fat face.**

"Very Slytherin." Snape smirked as people laughed.

**"You c-can't - Dad told you you're not to do m-magic - he said he'll chuck you out of the house - and you haven't got anywhere else to go - you haven't got any friends to take you -"**

**"Jiggery pokery!" said Harry in a fierce voice. "Hocus pocus…squiggly wiggly -"**

**"Abra cadabra!" Alex said in a spooky voice and wiggled her fingers for effect. "Alacazam!"**

The ones who knew about muggle magic where practically rolling on the floor.

**"MUUUUUUM!" howled Dudley, tripping over his feet as he dashed back toward the house. "MUUUUM! He's doing you know what!"**

"Y-you know wh-what?" George choked through his laughter.

**The twins paid dearly for their moment of fun.**

**As neither Dudley nor the hedge was in any way hurt, Aunt Petunia knew they hadn't really done magic, but Alex still had to duck as Aunt Petunia aimed a heavy blow at her head with the soapy frying pan.**

"WHAT?!" People screeched, and Remus winced, shielding his ears.

**Then she gave them work to do, with the promise they wouldn't eat again until they'd finished.**

Remus and Sirius let out a growl.

"They starved you." Sirius snarled.

**While Dudley lolled around watching and eating ice cream,**

**Harry cleaned the windows, washed the car, mowed the lawn, Alex trimmed the flowerbeds, pruned and watered the roses, and repainted the garden bench. The sun blazed overhead, burning the back of their necks. Harry knew he shouldn't have risen to Dudley's bait, but Dudley had said the very thing Harry had been thinking himself... maybe he didn't have any friends at Hogwarts...**

"Three years ago." Harry stressed and Ginny laughed next to him.

**Wish they could see famous Harry and Alexis Potter now, he thought savagely as he helped Alex spread manure on the flowerbeds, his back aching, sweat running down his face.**

"We should have checked on you." Dumbledore sighed.

******Alex sighed heavily, brushing her sweaty bangs out of her face as her brothers thoughts entered her mind. During their first year at Hogwarts, the twins had also found out that they had attained some sort of telepathic communication - meaning they could speak to each other in their minds, sometimes seeing what the other saw.**

"That's still really cool." said Justin.

**It was half past seven, in the evening**

"You've been working for that long?" Padma snapped.

**when at last, exhausted, the twins heard Aunt Petunia calling them.**

**"Get in here! And walk on the newspaper!"**

**Harry moved gladly into the shade of the gleaming kitchen, Alex following suit. On top of the fridge stood tonight's pudding: a huge mound of whipped cream and sugared violets. A loin of roast pork was sizzling in the oven.**

"Which you'll get none of I suppose." Molly huffed.

**"Eat quickly! The Masons will be here soon!" snapped Aunt Petunia, pointing to two slices of bread and a lump of cheese on the kitchen table.**

The Weasleys looked uncharacteristically dark.

**She was already wearing a salmon-pink cocktail dress.**

"She has no taste what-so ever." Parvarti shook her head.

**Harry and Alex washed their hands and bolted down their pitiful supper, taking a slice of bread each and a potion of the cheese. The moment they had finished, Aunt Petunia whisked away their plate.**

**"Upstairs! Hurry!"**

Tonk's hair turned red.

**As they passed the door to the living room, Harry and Alex caught a glimpse of Uncle Vernon and Dudley in bow ties and dinner jackets. They had only just reached the upstairs landing when the door bell rang and Uncle Vernon's furious face appeared at the foot of the stairs.**

**"Remember, boy, girl - one sound -"**

Theo held Alex's hand as Blaise said something in Italian that she had no doubt was an assortment of creative curses.

**Alex stealthily dashed to the room, face flushed from silent laughter. ****Harry crossed to the bedroom on tiptoe slipped inside, closed the door, and turned to collapse on his and Alex's bed, only to see Alex standing in front of him with a looks of uttermost confusion. She too, had been eager to get a load off on their bed. The trouble was, there was already someone sitting on it.**

People practically bounced.

"That's the chapter." Hannah announced

"I'll read next." Lavender raised her hand excitely, and the book was summoned to her.

* * *

**I hope you all liked this chapter. Anyways, please review!**

** ~Cassandra**


	2. Dobby's Warning

**Next chapter for you all! I was pleasantly surprised to find more than sixty follows when the first chapter was posted. Thank you guys so much for the support to this story!**

**Be sure to check out my new story "Riddle Me This". It's a time-travel fic, but with a different twist!**

**And my new one-shot, "Ballad of a Broken Soul".**

**Anywho, enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Harry Potter; it all belongs to J.K Rowling and Warner Brothers Inc. However, I do own Alex.

**Pairings:** All are canon with the exception of my Theo/OC pairing, and possible Blaise/Daphne.

* * *

"**Dobby's Warning**" read Lavender. Malfoy perked up at the name.

"Dobby? My house-elf?"

"The very same." Alex nodded.

"What's he doing there?"

"You'll see. Keep reading, Brown."

**Harry managed not to shout out, but it was a close thing. Alex could only blink, splutterin g slightly at she stared at the thing. The little creature on the bed had large, bat-like ears and bulging green eyes the size of tennis balls.**

Draco blinked.

**Harry knew instantly that this was what had been watching them out of the garden hedge that morning.**

**As they all stared at each other, the twins heard Dudley's voice from the hall.**

"Oh, the horror!" Fred cried.

**"May I take your coats, Mr. and Mrs. Mason?"**

Many snorted.

**The creature slipped off the bed and bowed so low that the end of its long, thin nose touched the carpet. The twins noticed that it was wearing what looked like an old pillowcase, with rips for arm- and leg-holes.**

Hermione made a noise of disgust. "You are awful, Malfoy. How can you treat poor Dobby like that?"

"It wasn't my doing, Granger."

Hermione still didn't believe him.

**"Er - hello," said Harry nervously.**

**"Harry and Alexis Potter!" said the creature in a high-pitched voice the twins sure would carry down the stairs. Alex's eye twitched at the thought. "So long has Dobby wanted to meet you, sir, ma'am,... Such an honor it is . . . ."**

Harry winced.

**"Th-thank you," said Harry, edging along the wall and sinking into his desk chair, next to Hedwig, who was asleep in her large cage. He wanted to ask, "What are you?" but thought it would sound too rude,**

"It would." Hermione said with a sniff and a lot of people looked annoyed.

**so instead he said, "Who are you?"**

**"Dobby, sir. Just Dobby. Dobby the house-elf," said the creature.**

"That answerers both your questions." Ernie smiled.

**"Oh - really?" said Alex. "Er - I don't want to be rude or anything, but - this isn't a great time for me to have a house-elf in our bedroom."**

**Aunt Petunias high, false laugh sounded from the living room, making Alex wince. It was worse than Pansy Parkinson, and that said a lot for itself.**

"Excuse me?" Pansy snarled.

Alex waved her off carelessly. "Oh, you're excused."

Many Slytherins snickered at this.

**The elf hung his head.**

**"Not that we're not pleased to meet you," said Harry quickly, "but, er, is there any particular reason you're here?"**

"You really are kind." Luna smiled.

**"Oh, yes, sir," said Dobby earnestly. "Dobby has come to tell you, sir ... it is difficult, sir ... Dobby wonders where to begin..."**

**"The beginning would be nice." said Alex.**

"Cheeky." chuckled Theo.

**"Sit down," said Harry politely, pointing at the bed.**

The purebloods groaned.

"I didn't know at the time, okay?" Harry cried defensively.

**To both the twins' horror, the elf burst into tears - very noisy tears.**

**"S-sit down!" he wailed. "Never ... never ever. . . "**

**Harry thought he heard the voices downstairs falter.**

People winced.

**"I'm sorry," he whispered, "I didn't mean to offend you or anything -"**

"You didn't." said Malfoy.

**"Offend Dobby!" choked the elf. "Dobby has never been asked to sit down by a wizard - like an equal-"**

Some people glared at Malfoy.

**Harry, trying to say "Shh!" and look comforting at the same time, ushered Dobby back onto the bed where he sat hiccoughing, looking like a large and very ugly doll.**

Daphne shook her head.

**"Dobby, please," Alex pleaded. "You have to keep your voice down. The Dursleys could hear."**

**At last he managed to control himself, and sat with his great eyes fixed on the twins in an expression of watery adoration.**

**"You can't have met many decent wizards," said Harry, trying to cheer him up.**

**Dobby shook his head. Then, without warning, he leapt up and started banging his head furiously on the window, shouting, "Bad Dobby! Bad Dobby!"**

"He spoke ill of his master." Anthony said.

**"Great going, Harry." Alex snapped quietly, ****springing up and pulling Dobby back onto the bed.**

**"Don't - what are you doing?" Harry hissed. Hedwig had woken up with a particularly loud screech and was beating her wings wildly against the bars of her cage.**

**"Dobby had to punish himself, sir, ma'am" said the elf, who had gone slightly cross-eyed. "Dobby almost spoke ill of his family . . . ."**

**"Your family?"**

**"The wizard family Dobby serves, sir... Dobby is a house-elf - bound to serve one house and one family forever...**

Quite a few snorted at that.

"I wouldn't say forever." said Ron with a grin.

**"Do they know you're here?" asked Harry curiously.**

**Dobby shuddered.**

**Alex sighed. "I'll take that as a 'no' then."**

**"Oh, no, no ... Dobby will have to punish himself most grievously for coming to see you, ma'am. Dobby will have to shut his ears in the oven door for this.**

Blaise shook his head. "House elves aren't supposed to punish themselves, unless their master has ordered it."

**If they ever knew -"**

**"But won't they notice if you shut your ears in the oven door?" Alex asked him, incredulous.**

**"Dobby doubts it, ma'am. Dobby is always having to punish himself for something, ma'am. They lets Dobby get on with it, sir. Sometimes they reminds me to do extra punishments …"**

"They?" said Astoria, aghast. "Draco, I thought you knew better!"

Malfoy winced. "I couldn't do anything with father listening."

To say the other houses were surprised was an understatement.

**"But why don't you leave? Escape?"**

**"A house-elf must be set free, sir. And the family will never set Dobby free ... Dobby will serve the family until he dies, sir..."**

"Unless freed." Remus said.

**Alex raised an eyebrow. "Why not kick their arses then? I'm sure elves have their own magic, seeing as you're here."**

**Dobby looked absolutely horrified at the idea. "Oh no, ma'am. It is the rule of the house-elves to respect their masters, ma'am."**

"Doesn't count if you're a free elf though." Harry and Alex grinned. Malfoy Sr. had it coming.

**Harry stared.**

**"And I thought we had it bad staying here for another four weeks," he said.**

"You do." Molly sniffed.

**"This makes the Dursleys sound almost human.**

"Almost." Arthur emphasised.

**Can't anyone help you? Can't we?"**

"So considerate." Professor Vector smiled.

**Almost at once, Harry wished he hadn't spoken. Dobby dissolved again into wails of gratitude.**

"Most wouldn't, they don't want freedom." said Marcus, and Hermione scowled at this.

**"Please," Harry whispered frantically, "please be quiet. If the Dursleys hear anything, if they know you're here -"**

**Alex didn't bother to hit her brother for this. She had already inched closer to the door, hoping that the voices downstairs hadn't faltered a second time.**

**"Harry and Alexis Potter asks if they can help Dobby ... Dobby has heard of your greatness, sir, but of your goodness, Dobby never knew . …"**

**Alex had stopped listening as he said this. Harry, who was feeling distinctly hot in the face, said, "Whatever you've heard about our greatness is a load of rubbish. I'm not even top of my year at Hogwarts; that's Hermione, she -"**

**But he stopped quickly, because thinking about Hermione was painful.**

"Oh, Harry." Hermione said.

**" Harry Potter is humble and modest," said Dobby reverently, his orb-like eyes aglow. "Harry Potter speaks not of his triumph over He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named -"**

**"Voldemort?" said Harry.**

**Dobby clapped his hands over his bat ears and moaned, "Ah, speak not the name, sir! Speak not the name!"**

"For Merlin's sake, it's just a name!" The twins cried.

**"Sorry" said Harry quickly. "I know lots of people don't like it. My friend Ron -"**

**He stopped again. Thinking about Ron was painful, too.**

Ron winced.

**Alex winced from where she stood. Her brother really did care about his friends. Don't get her wrong, she cared about her friends too, but only to an extent given the atmosphere she was presented with.**

"I suppose first year wasn't exactly the best." Daphne agreed, a sheepish smile on her face.

**Dobby leaned toward Harry, his eyes wide as headlights.**

**'Dobby heard tell," he said hoarsely, "that Harry and Alexis Potter met the Dark Lord for a second time just weeks ago ... that Harry and Alexis Potter escaped yet again. "**

"If I didn't know any better, I'd say you were stalking us." Alex teased, and Malfoy glared at her.

**Harry nodded and Dobby's eyes suddenly shone with tears.**

"**Ah, sir, ma'am," he gasped, dabbing his face with a corner of the grubby pillowcase he was wearing. "Harry and Alexis Potter are valiant and bold! They have braved so many dangers already!**

"Right on all accounts." Daphne agreed. The twins blushed.

**But Dobby has come to protect Harry and Alexis Potter, to warn them, even if he does have to shut his ears in the oven door later... Harry and Alexis Potter must not go back to Hogwarts."**

"WHAT?" People in the hall cried, outraged.

**There was a silence broken only by the chink of knives and forks from downstairs and the distant rumble of Uncle Vernon's voice.**

**"Sorry, I must have heard wrong." Alex spoke stiffly, "I thought you said that Harry and I shouldn't go back to Hogwarts."**

**Dobby nodded. "Tis true, ma'am."**

**"W-what?" Harry stammered. "But we've got to go back - term starts on September first. It's all that's keeping us going. You don't know what it's like here. We don't belong here. We belong in your world – at Hogwarts."**

A lot of people nodded, especially the D.A.

**"No, no, no," squeaked Dobby, shaking his head so hard his ears flapped. "Harry and Alexis Potter must stay where they are safe. They are too great, too good, to lose.**

"Most life is." Luna said.

**If Harry and Alexis Potter go back to Hogwarts, they will be in mortal danger."**

**"Why?" chorused the twins; Harry in surprise, and Alex in suspicion.**

**"There is a plot. A plot to make most terrible things happen at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry this year," whispered Dobby, suddenly trembling all over. "Dobby has known it for months, sir, ma'am. Harry and Alexis Potter must not put themselves in peril. They are too important!"**

"We're not, at least not more then anyone else." Harry shook his head.

**"What terrible things?" said Harry at once. "Who's plotting them?"**

**"Better yet, why are you warning us?" added Alex. "What has this got to do with us?"**

"Poor elf has to deal with you both interrogating him at once." Alicia chuckled.

**Dobby made a funny choking noise and then banged his head frantically against the wall.**

**"All right!" cried Harry, grabbing the elf's arm to stop him. "You can't tell us. I understand." A sudden, unpleasant thought struck him. "Hang on - this hasn't got anything to do with Vol- - sorry - with You-Know-Who, has it.**

"He didn't say the name!" Fred and George mock gasped, and Harry rolled his eyes.

**You could just shake or nod," he added hastily as Dobby's head tilted worryingly close to the wall again.**

Hermione nodded.

**Slowly, Dobby shook his head.**

**"Not -not He- Who-Must-Not-Be-Named, sir.'**

**But Dobby's eyes were wide and he seemed to be trying to give Harry a hint. Harry, however, was completely lost.**

**"He hasn't got a brother, has he?"**

"Merlin help us if he did. That would be a bloody disaster waiting to happen." said Adrian.

Alex scoffed. "Please. Voldemort would have probably killed him already if he did."

"True, true." Adrian nodded.

**Alex blinked. "Merlin, I hope not. One of him is enough as it is."**

**Dobby shook his head, his eyes wider than ever.**

**"Well then, I can't think who else would have a chance of making horrible things happen at Hogwarts," said Harry. "I mean, there's Dumbledore, for one thing - you know who Dumbledore is, don't you?"**

**Dobby bowed his head.**

**"Albus Dumbledore is the greatest headmaster Hogwarts has ever had. Dobby knows it, sir. Dobby has heard Dumbledore's powers rival those of He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named at the height of his strength. But, sir" - Dobby's voice dropped to an urgent whisper - "there are powers Dumbledore doesn't ... powers no decent wizard.. ."**

**"The Dark Arts." Alex whispered. A stupid thing to do on her part.**

"I know, I know." Alex groaned at the amused stares she received. "Stop looking at me like that!"

**And before either twin could stop him, Dobby bounded off the bed, seized Harry and Alex's desk lamp, and started beating himself around the head with ear splitting yelps.**

**"I'm sorry, I'm sorry. Just please - just stop that!" Alex hissed frantically.**

**A sudden silence fell downstairs.**

"Shit." said Fred and George.

"Language." Molly scolded.

**Two seconds later Harry and Alex, hearts thudding madly, heard Uncle Vernon coming into the hall, calling, "Dudley must have left his television on again, the little tyke!"**

**"Quick! In the closet!" hissed Harry, stuffing Dobby in, shutting the door, and flinging himself onto the bed, Alex seating hwerself on the desk just as the door handle turned.**

**"What - the - devil - are - you - doing?" said Uncle Vernon through gritted teeth, his face horribly close to Harry's. "You've just ruined the punch line of my Japanese golfer joke ...**

"I'm sure the Masons are thanking you." Tonks said, earning laughs from the rest.

**One more sound and you'll wish you'd never been born, boy!" Then he rounded on Alex. "And you girl! I expect you to keep in line, or else!"**

"Or else what?" Marcus and Adrian growled.

**He stomped flat-footed from the room.**

**Shaking, Harry let Dobby out of the closet.**

Harry shook slightly.

**"See what it's like here?" he said. "See why we've got to go back to Hogwarts? It's the only place we've got -well, I think we've got friends. "**

"Of course you do, mate." Oliver said, earning nods from a whole lot of people.

**He turned to Alex, who gave a shrug.**

**"My lot aren't exactly known to be friendly, so it doesn't count." she said.**

"Too true." Lee laughed.

**"Friends who don't even write to Harry and Alexis Potter?" said Dobby slyly.**

"And how does he know that?" asked Parvarti.

**"I expect they've just been - wait a minute," said Harry, frowning. "How do you know our friends haven't been writing to us?"**

**Dobby shuffled his feet.**

"A sign of guilt." Remus, the twins and Lee said.

**"Harry and Alexis Potter mustn't be angry with Dobby. Dobby did it for the best -"**

**Alex hopped off the desk and narrowed her eyes. "Have you been stopping our letters?"**

**"Dobby has them here, ma'am," said the elf. Stepping nimbly out of the twins' reach, he pulled a thick wad of envelopes from the inside of the pillowcase he was wearing. Harry could make out Hermione's neat writing, Ron's untidy scrawl, and even a scribble that looked as though it was from the Hogwarts gamekeeper, Hagrid. ****Alex could also see Daphne's script, Blaise's curvy handwriting, and a couple of letters addressed in a penmanship she didn't recognize.**

"That would be Theo's." said Blaise in wicked glee, laughing as he didged a book thrown by a red-faced Theo.

**Dobby blinked anxiously up at the twins.**

"They're only angry when they lose their tempers." said Neville, and many agreed to this, some even shuddered.

**"Harry and Alexis Potter mustn't be angry... Dobby hoped ... if Harry Potter thought his friends had forgotten him ... Harry Alexis Potter might not want to go back to school ..."**

**Harry wasn't listening, and Alex looked furious.**

**Both made a grab for the letters, but Dobby jumped out of reach.**

**"Harry and Alexis Potter will have them, if they give Dobby their word that they will not return to Hogwarts. Ah, sir, ma'am, this is a danger you must not face! Say you won't go back!"**

"No! Don't say anything, he's setting you up for a magical contract!" Arthur said worriedly.

"Don't worry, Mr. Weasley, we didn't. We're here aren't we?" said Harry consolingly.

"Bloody hell, Dobby tried to trick us." Alex shook her head. "Figures he's been living with Slytherins."

**"No," said Harry angrily. "Give me my friends' letters!"**

**"And please leave, before the Dursleys find you." added Alex.**

**"Then Harry and Alexis Potter leave Dobby no choice," said the elf sadly.**

"You should have lied." Dean said.

"No, magical contract, remember? So even if they lied, they could not go back." Hermione explained.

**Before either twin could move, Dobby had darted to the bedroom door, pulled it open, and sprinted down the stairs.**

**Mouth dry, stomach lurching, they sprang after him, trying not to make a sound. Harry jumped the last six steps, landing catlike on the hall carpet,**

People blinked.

******and Alex rushed down to his side, **looking around for Dobby. From the dining room they heard Uncle Vernon saying, ". . . tell Petunia that very funny story about those American plumbers, Mr. Mason. She's been dying to hear. . . "

"Really laying it on thick, isn't he?" Malfoy asked, disgusted.

**The twins ran up the hall into the kitchen and felt their stomachs disappear.**

**Aunt Petunia's masterpiece of a pudding, the mountain of cream and sugared violets, was floating up near the ceiling. On top of a cupboard in the corner crouched Dobby.**

**"No," croaked Harry. "Please ... they'll kill us …"**

** Alex gulped in anticipation,"You don't know the things we go through here, please... Dobby, leave it..."**

"All right, that's it." snarled Sirius, "Once my name is cleared, we're taking you away from those horrible muggles."

"We'll have a good word with them as well." agreed Remus.

Theo raised in eyebrow, his arm securing themselves around Alex's shoulders. "A visit would be in order, don't you think Blaise? Draco?" The two aforementioned Slytherin boys smirked.

"I shall be speaking with Petunia as well." drawled Snape, and then he turned to Harry. "I apologize Mr. Potter. I was not aware of your living conditions."

Harry could only nod, shocked. And Alex was watching her head of house with wide, disbelieving eyes, much like the rest of the hall.

"Keep reading, Miss Brown." said Dumbledore. Lavender finally snapped out of her stupor and continued.

**"Harry and Alexis Potter must say they are not going back to school -"**

**"Dobby ... please ..."**

**"Say it, sir -"**

**"We can't -"**

**Dobby gave them both a tragic look.**

**"Then Dobby must do it, ma'am, for Harry and Alexis Potter's own good."**

**The pudding fell to the floor with a heart-stopping crash. Cream splattered the windows and walls as the dish shattered. With a crack like a whip, Dobby vanished.**

"Oh dear." gasped Molly.

"Not good." Ron winced.

**There were screams from the dining room and Uncle Vernon burst into the kitchen to find the twins, rigid with shock, covered from head to foot in Aunt Petunia's pudding.**

**At first, it looked as though Uncle Vernon would manage to gloss the whole thing over. ("Just our niece and nephew - very disturbed meeting strangers upsets them, so we kept them upstairs) He shooed the shocked Masons back into the dining room, promised the twins he would flay them to within an inch of their lives when the Masons had left,**

People growled, hissed, and snarled.

**and handed them a mop and rag.**

**Aunt Petunia dug some ice cream out of the freezer and Harry and Alex, still shaking, started scrubbing the kitchen clean.**

**Uncle Vernon might still have been able to make his deal - if it hadn't been for the owl.**

People winced and the twins shuddered. That had caused them being locked up.

For once, Fudge looked apologetic.

**Aunt Petunia was just passing around a box of after-dinner mints when a huge barn owl swooped through the dining room window, dropped a letter on Mrs. Mason's head, and swooped out again. Mrs. Mason screamed like a banshee and ran from the house shouting about lunatics. Mr. Mason stayed just long enough to tell the Dursleys that his wife was mortally afraid of birds of all shapes and sizes, and to ask whether this was their idea of a joke.**

"It wasn't funny for Harry or Alex." Ginny said grimly.

**Harry stood in the kitchen, clutching the mop for support, Alex, leaning over the counter shakily with a rag in hand, as Uncle Vernon advanced on them, a demonic glint in his tiny eyes.**

More growls and snarls.

**"Read it!" he hissed evilly, brandishing the letter the owl had delivered. "Go on - read it!"**

**Harry took it. It did not contain birthday greetings.**

_**Dear Mr. and Miss Potter,**_

_**We have received intelligence**_

"We wish." Several people muttered.

_**that a Hover Charm was used at your place of residence this evening at twelve minutes past nine.**_

_**As you know, underage wizards are not permitted to perform spells outside school, and further spell work on your part may lead to expulsion from said school**_

_**(Decree for the Reasonable Restriction of Underage Sorcery, 1875, Paragraph C).**_

_**We would also ask you to remember that any magical activity that risks notice by members of the non-magical community (Muggles) is a serious offense under section 13 of the International Confederation of Warlocks' Statute of Secrecy.**_

_**Enjoy your holidays!**_

Bitter snorts where heard.

_**Yours sincerely,**_

_**Mafalda Hopkirk**_

_**IMPROPER USE OF MAGIC OFFICE**_

"Honestly, aren't you supposed to be subtle? Muggles notice giant birds swooping over their heads, you know." Millicent snarked.

**Harry looked up from the letter, and shared a horrified look with Alex. They gulped.**

**"You didn't tell us you weren't allowed to use magic outside school," said Uncle Vernon, a mad gleam dancing in his eyes.**

"Never a good sign." Harry and Alex flinched.

**"For got to mention it ... Slipped your mind, I daresay..." He was bearing down on the twins like a great bulldog, all his teeth bared. "Well, I've got news for you, boy, girl ... I'm locking you up …**

Cries of outrage went through the hall.

**You're never going back to that school ... never ... and if you try and magic yourself out - they'll expel you!"**

**And laughing like a maniac, he dragged Harry and Alex back upstairs.**

"Oh, he's dead." Ginny glared.

**Uncle Vernon was as bad as his word. The following morning, he paid a man to fit bars on the twins' window. He himself fitted a cat flap in the bedroom door, so that small amounts of food could be pushed inside three times a day.**

Hermione trembled with rage. "They're treating you like some common house pet!"

**They let Harry and Alex out to use the bathroom morning and evening. Otherwise, they were locked in their room around the clock.**

George was scribbling furiously on his parchment.

**Three days later, the Dursleys were showing no sign of relenting, and Harry and Alex couldn't see any way out of their situation. Harry lay on their bed watching the sun sinking behind the bars on the window and wondered miserably what was going to happen to them. Alex turned so she was facing the wall, staring blankly at it.**

**What was the good of magicking themselves out of the room if Hogwarts would expel them for doing it? Yet life at Privet Drive had reached an all-time low. Now that the Dursleys knew they weren't going to wake up as fruit bats, the twins had lost their only weapon.**

**Dobby might have saved Harry and Alex from horrible happenings at Hogwarts, but the way things were going, they'd probably starve to death anyway.**

Harry sighed. "Dobby had good intentions. He just didn't know how to go about them."

**The cat-flap rattled and Aunt Petunia's hand appeared, pushing a bowl of canned soup, and a plate of crackers into the room. Harry, whose insides were aching with hunger,**

Madam Pomfrey and Molly were eyeing the twins again.

**jumped off his bed and seized it. The soup was stone-cold, but he drank half of it in one gulp. Then he crossed the room to Hedwig's cage and tipped the soggy vegetables at the bottom of the bowl into her empty food tray. She ruffled her feathers and gave him a look of deep disgust.**

"You still fed your owl. That's so sweet." Lavender said. Harry shrugged, it wasn't Hedwig's fault.

**"It's no good turning your beak up at it - that's all we've got," said Harry grimly.**

**Alex shared the stale crackers with Harry, placing a couple in Midnight's bowl. Harry in turn, gave her some soup.**

**He put the empty bowl back on the floor next to the cat-flap and lay back down on the bed, somehow even hungrier than he had been before they had eaten.**

**Alex placed the plate next to the bowl, and glanced at her brother on the bed. How long were they going to go on like this? She doubted anyone missed them, it cared if no one bothered enough to check. Did the professors even know what was going on at the Dursley's?**

"No Miss Potter, we didn't." said McGonagall. "Or we would have picked you up the instant we knew."

**Supposing they were still alive in another four weeks, what would happen if they didn't turn up at Hogwarts? Would someone be sent to see why they hadn't come back? Would they be able to make the Dursleys let hithemm go?**

"They would go looking for you, yes, and yes." answered Tonks.

"And hopefully those awful muffles would be sent to Azkaban." Madam Pince sniffed.

**The room was growing dark. Exhausted, stomach rumbling, mind spinning over the same unanswerable questions, Harry fell into an uneasy sleep, Alex merely slumped over the desk.**

**Harry dreamed that he was on show in a zoo, with a card reading UNDERAGE WIZARD attached to his cage. People goggled through the bars at him as he lay, starving and weak, on a bed of straw. He saw Dobby's face in the crowd and shouted out, asking for help, but Dobby called, "Harry ad Alexis Potter is safe there, sir!" and was only then he noticed that Alex was on her knees next to him, tightly gripping the bars. Then the Dursleys appeared and Dudley rattled the bars of the cage, laughing at them.**

"Very weird dreams." Seamus muttered.

**"Stop it," Harry muttered as he could feel someone shaking him. "Leave me alone ... cut it out ... I'm trying to sleep . . . ."**

**"Harry, you dolt, wake up!"**

**He opened his eyes. Alex was leaning over him, a large grin on her face as she gestured to the window. Moonlight was shining through the bars on the window. And someone was goggling through the bars at him:**

"What?" People were murmuring.

**a freckle faced, red-haired, long-nosed someone.**

The twins sniggered when Ron scowled.

**Ron Weasley was outside the twins' window**

"What?" People cried.

"That's the chapter."

"I'll read." Katie spoke up and levitated the book over with a smile.

* * *

**I hope you all liked this chapter. Anyways, please review!**

** ~Cassandra**


	3. The Burrow

**Guys, I'm really sorry for the super late update. So, I'm going to skip my stupid excuses and go on with the story.**

**Be sure to check out my new story "Riddle Me This". It's a time-travel fic, but with a different twist!**

**And my new one-shot, "Ballad of a Broken Soul".**

**Anywho, enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Harry Potter; it all belongs to J.K Rowling and Warner Brothers Inc. However, I do own Alex.

**Pairings:** All are canon with the exception of my Theo/OC pairing, and possible Blaise/Daphne.

* * *

"**The Burrow**" Katie began.

The doors of the great hall swung open again, and four people stepped in. There was Charlie Weasley, Bill Weasley, Viktor Krum, and Fleur Delacour.

Hermione bit back a groan at the last one, and Ginny held in a snide insult.

The Weasley Family stood to greet their brothers/children as they settled down on the Gryffindor table. Bill and Charlie sat on Arthur's right, Viktor sitting on Hermione's left, much to Ron's chagrin. Fleur settled down at the Ravenclaw table, much to Ginny's relief.

One they were all filled in, Katie continued.

"_**Ron**_**!" breathed Harry, creeping to the window and pushing it up so they could talk through the bars. "Ron, how did you - What the -?"**

The twins and Ron started snickering.

**Harry's mouth fell open as the full impact of what he was seeing hit him.**

It got worse.

**Ron was leaning out of the back window of an old turquoise car, which was parked in midair.**

"Cool!"cried Dennis.

**Grinning at Harry and Alex from the front seats were Fred and George, Ron's elder twin brothers.**

"We were trying not to laugh."

**"All right, Harry?" asked George.**

"There where bars on his window." Padma said in disbelief.

**"What's been going on?" said Ron. "Why haven't you been answering my letters? I've asked you to stay about twelve times, and then Dad came home and said you'd got an official warning for using magic in front of Muggles -"**

**"It wasn't us - and how did he know?"**

**"He works for the Ministry,"**

"Did they tell the whole ministry?" Harry said exasperated. Arthur laughed, and Fudge actually managed to look sheepish.

**said Ron. "You know we're not supposed to do spells outside school -"**

**"Bit rich coming from you," said Alex, staring at the floating car. "This is so bloody cool."**

**"Thanks. This doesn't count, though," said Ron. "We're only borrowing this. It's Dad's, we didn't enchant it. But doing magic in front of those Muggles you live with -"**

"Harry already said it wasn't them." Neville pointed out.

**"We didn't do it." Alex huffed.**

**Harry shook his head, "I told you, we didn't - but it'll take too long to explain now look, can you tell them at Hogwarts that the Dursleys have locked us up and won't let us come back -"**

**"- and obviously we can't magic ourselves out, because the Ministry'll think that's the second spell we've done in three days, so -" added Alex.**

**"Stop gibbering," said Ron. "We've come to take you both home with us."**

**"But you can't magic us out either -"**

**"We don't need to," said Ron, jerking his head toward the front seat and grinning. "You forget who I've got with me."**

People leaned forward. This might be good.

**"Tie that around the bars," said Fred, throwing the end of a rope to Harry.**

**"If the Dursleys wake up, we're dead," said Harry as he tied the rope tightly around a bar and Fred revved up the car.**

**"I'm more afraid of what they'd do to us if we still live." said Alex, glancing warily between the four.**

Malfoy snorted, "If I was in your place, I'd be worried too."

"No shite," Alex snarked, "They all hate you. I'm safe."

"Point taken."

**"Don't worry," said Fred, "and stand back."**

**Harry moved back into the shadows next to Hedwig, who seemed to have realized how important this was and kept still and silent,**

"She's very intelligent." Lavender complimented.

**pulling Alex with him. The car revved louder and louder and suddenly, with a crunching noise, the bars were pulled clean out of the window as Fred drove straight up in the air. Harry ran back to the window to see the bars dangling a few feet above the ground. Panting, Ron hoisted them up into the car.**

"It was heavy!"

**Alex inched towards the wall and listened, but there was no sound from the Dursleys' bedroom. They were still safe.**

**When the bars were safely in the back seat with Ron, Fred reversed as close as possible to the twins' window.**

**"Get in," Ron said.**

**"But all our Hogwarts stuff - our wand - our broomsticks -" said Harry.**

**"Where is it?"**

**"Locked in the cupboard under the stairs, and we can't get out of this room -" Alex answered.**

**"No problem," said George from the front passenger seat. "Out of the way, you two."**

**Fred and George climbed catlike through the window into the twins' room.**

"You use cat references a lot." Charlie pointed out and in reply the twins looked at McGonagall, both grinning cheekily. The Transfiguration professor groaned.

**_You have to hand it to them_, thought Harry, as George took an ordinary hairpin from his pocket and started to pick the lock.**

**_Bloody brilliant, they are_, Alex agreed, _With all the things they pull, I'm surprised they're not in Slytherin_.**

"I hate to admit it, but I agree." Marcus chuckled.

"We don't know if we-" Fred began.

"- should take that as a compliment." finished George.

**"A lot of wizards think it's a waste of time, knowing this sort of Muggle trick," said Fred, "but we feel they're skills worth learning, even if they are a bit slow."**

**There was a small click and the door swung open.**

"And where did you learn that?" Molly narrowed her eyes.

The Weasley twins pointed to pointed to Percy, who pointed to Charlie who pointed to Bill, then it went to Arthur, who pointed to Sirius, who then pointed to Remus, who raised his hands in surrender.

"James started it." said the werewolf.

Molly huffed in defeat.

**"So - we'll get your trunks - you grab anything you need from your room and hand it out to Ron," whispered George.**

**"Careful. The Dursley's room is somewhere down the hall." said Alex in a hushed tone.**

**"And watch out for the bottom stair - it creaks," Harry whispered back as the twins disappeared onto the dark landing.**

**The twins dashed around their room, collecting their things and passing them out of the window to Ron. Then they went to help Fred and George heave their trunk up the stairs (Fred and Harry carrying Harry's trunk, and George and Alex carrying Alex's). Harry heard Uncle Vernon cough, and Alex froze momentarily, before shaking her head and went back to pulling up the trunk.**

A few people raised eyebrows.

**At last, panting, they reached the landing, then carried the trunk through the twins' room to the open window. Fred climbed back into the car to pull with Ron, and Harry, Alex and George pushed from the bedroom side. Inch by inch, the trunks slid through the window.**

**Uncle Vernon coughed again.**

**"A bit more," panted Fred, who was pulling from inside the car.**

**"One good push -"**

**Harry, Alex and George threw their shoulders against Harry's trunk and it slid out of the window into the back seat of the car, doing the same to Alex's.**

The three mentioned rubbed their shoulders.

**"Okay, let's go," George whispered.**

**But as Harry climbed onto the windowsill, Alex pulled him back, "Wait, we forgot -" Before she could finish, there came a sudden loud screech from behind them,**

Harry looked down, he couldn't believe he'd done that. Alex on the other hand, slapped her forehead.

"And to think you could have gotten away Scot free." Bill chuckled.

**followed immediately by the thunder of Uncle Vernon's voice.**

**"THAT RUDDY OWL!"**

**"I've forgotten Hedwig!"**

**"George, hand me a hairpin." Alex said frantically, swiping the hairpin George had held out to her, and proceeded pick on the lock of Midnight's chains. Seconds later, there was a 'click', and Midnight soared out the open window. And Alex was hauled into the car by George and Ron as she climbed up the drawers.**

"And where did you learn that, young lady?" Molly crossed her arms.

Alex smiled sheepishly. "I didn't think it would actually work. I just watched how Fred and George did it."

**Meanwhile, Harry tore back across the room as the landing light clicked on – he snatched up Hedwig's cage, dashed to the window, and passed it out to Ron. He was scrambling back onto the chest of drawers when Uncle Vernon hammered on the unlocked door and it crashed open.**

People leaned towards the book, some looking horrified.

**For a split second, Uncle Vernon stood framed in the doorway; then he let out a bellow like an angry bull and dived at Harry, grabbing him by the ankle.**

Peoples eyes narrowed and you could practically see the list of curses being written.

**Alex, Ron, Fred, and George seized Harry's arms and pulled as hard as they could.**

**"Petunia!" roared Uncle Vernon. "They're getting away! THEY'RE GETTING AWAY!"**

"Odd. I thought they would take the chance to get rid of you two." said Blaise.

"They'd rather see us unhappy, really. Even if it meant keeping us there." Harry answered. People, specifically the adults (bar Fudge and Umbridge), glowered.

**But Alex and the Weasleys gave a gigantic tug and Harry's leg slid out of Uncle Vernon's grasp. As soon as Harry was in the car and had slammed the door shut Ron yelled, "Put your foot down, Fred!" and the car shot suddenly toward the moon.**

People started cheering.

**Harry couldn't believe it - they were free. He rolled down the window, the night air whipping his hair,**

Harry smiled. He loved flying.

**and looked back at the shrinking rooftops of Privet Drive. Uncle Vernon, Aunt Petunia, and Dudley were all hanging, dumbstruck, out of the twins' window.**

**"See you next summer!" Harry yelled.**

**Alex snickered before she too yelled out, "Don't forget to write!"**

People looked grim at the thought, others laughed at their remarks.

"You can come and stay with us, you know." said Daphne.

"You're welcome to stay at The Burrow anytime." added Arthur.

Sirius nodded, "Once my name is cleared, you two never have to go back there again."

Umbridge sneered at Sirius' claim of innocence.

**The Weasleys roared with laughter and the twins settled back in their seats, grinning from ear to ear.**

**"Let Hedwig out," Harry told Ron. "She can fly behind us. She hasn't had a chance to stretch her wings for ages."**

A lot of girls nodded along with Hagrid and a few others.

**George handed the hairpin to Ron and, a moment later, Hedwig soared joyfully out of the window to glide alongside them like a ghost.**

Molly sighed.

**"So - what's the story, you two?" said Ron impatiently. "What's been happening?"**

**The twins told them all about Dobby, the warning he'd given Harry and Alex, and the fiasco of the violet pudding. There was a long, shocked silence when they had finished.**

**"Very fishy," said Fred finally.**

People laughed.

"Nicely put." Dean snorted.

**"Definitely dodgy" agreed George. "So he wouldn't even tell you who's supposed to be plotting all this stuff?"**

**"I don't think he could," said Harry. "I told you, every time he got close to letting something slip, he started banging his head against the wall."**

**He saw Fred and George look at each other.**

**"What, you think he was lying to me?" said Harry.**

"If he was ordered to, he could." said Adrian.

**"Well," said Fred, "put it this way - house-elves have got powerful magic of their own, but they can't usually use it without their master's permission. I reckon old Dobby was sent to stop you coming back to Hogwarts. Someone's idea of a joke. Can you think of anyone at school with a grudge against you?"**

**"Yes," said Harry, Alex and Ron together, instantly.**

**"Draco Malfoy," Harry explained. "He hates me."**

**"And me." Alex admitted sheepishly. "Probably because of how much I slapped him last year."**

"That's only partly the reason." Malfoy admitted. "The other would be because of your relations."

**"Draco Malfoy?" said George, turning around. "Not Lucius Malfoy's son?"**

**"Must be, it's not a very common name, is it?" said Harry.**

"Nope. Not in the muggle or wizarding world." said Theo.

**Fred snorted, but kept his eyes in front of him, "And you've slapped him, Alex? I thought Slytherins stuck to each other?"**

"Not you too." Astoria groaned. "Are all people this biased with our house? All because of You-Know-Who?"

The people from other houses looked somewhat ashamed, some nodded, some were sheepish.

**"He bloody annoyed me." said Alex irritably. Must everyone take a jab at her house because of the likes of Malfoy? "Just because I'm a Slytherin doesn't mean I'm some sort of arrogant twat."**

**Fred hastily backtracked and apologized, "I didn't mean it like that. It's bloody brilliant actually." he said.**

"Scary when angered." Millicent snickered.

"The slaps have lost its thrill though." laughed Daphne.

"You should have seen Hermione punching him. Much better than I could have ever done." said Alex, as she, Harry, Ron and Hermione burst out laughing.

**"I've heard Dad talking about Malfoy," said George. "He was a big supporter of You-Know-Who."**

**"And when You-Know-Who disappeared," said Fred, craning around to look at Harry,**

**"Lucius Malfoy came back saying he'd never meant any of it. Load of dung - Dad reckons he was right in You-Know-Who's inner circle."**

Many glanced warily at the Malfoy heir.

**Harry had heard these rumours about Malfoy's family before, and they didn't surprise him at all. Malfoy made Dudley Dursley look like a kind, thoughtful, and sensitive boy.**

Malfoy winced. "Sorry."

**"I don't know whether the Malfoy's own a house-elf," said Harry.**

**"Well, whoever owns him will be an old wizarding family, and they'll be rich," said Fred.**

**"Yeah, Mum's always wishing we had a house-elf to do the ironing," said George. "But all we've got is a lousy old ghoul in the attic and gnomes all over the garden. House-elves come with big old manors and castles and places like that; you wouldn't catch one in our house .. . ."**

**Harry was silent. Judging by the fact that Draco Malfoy usually had the best of everything, his family was rolling in wizard gold; he could just see Malfoy strutting around a large manor house. Sending the family servant to stop him and Alex from going back to Hogwarts also sounded exactly like the sort of thing Malfoy would do.**

Malfoy scratched the back of his neck, it did sound like the sort of thing he would do.

**Had they been stupid to take Dobby seriously?**

**Alex pondered on Harry's thoughts, mentally agreeing on some points. From everything that had happened in the past year, Dobby's warnign could truly be considered. But what if it was some sort of prank? Dare she ask Malfoy herself as soon as they got back to school?**

"Bad idea." said Oliver.

**"I'm glad we came to get you, anyway," said Ron. "I was getting really worried when you didn't answer any of my letters. I thought it was Errol's fault at first -"**

"He's still alive?" Remus said shocked. The Weasleys nodded.

**"Who's Errol?" the twins asked in unison.**

**"Our owl. He's ancient. It wouldn't be the first time he'd collapsed on a delivery. So then I tried to borrow Hermes -"**

**"Who?" they asked again.**

**"The owl Mum and Dad bought Percy when he was made prefect," said Fred from the front.**

**"But Percy wouldn't lend him to me," said Ron. "Said he needed him."**

"So your brother's best friend isn't important?" Daphne said in disbelief and Percy had the decency to be ashamed.

Ron snickered, "I kind of get where he's coming from, though. Not everyday you hear that Perce actually managed to snag a bird."

"Hear, hear!" Ginny chortled.

**"Percy's been acting very oddly this summer," said George, frowning. "And he has been sending a lot of letters and spending a load of time shut up in his room... I mean, there's only so many times you can polish a prefect badge...**

The hall burst out laughing.

**You're driving too far west, Fred," he added, pointing at a compass on the dashboard. Fred twiddled the steering wheel.**

**"So, does your dad know you've got the car?" said Harry, guessing the answer.**

**"Er, no," said Ron, "he had to work tonight. Hopefully we'll be able to get it back in the garage without Mum noticing we flew it."**

All the people who knew Molly burst out laughing, even some who didn't.

**"Why do I get the feeling that won't work?" Alex mused, but they ignored her.**

"Gee, thanks guys."

**"What does your dad do at the Ministry of Magic, anyway?" asked Harry.**

**"He works in the most boring department," said Ron. "The Misuse of Muggle Artefacts Office."**

**"The what?"**

**"It's all to do with bewitching things that are Muggle-made, you know, in case they end up back in a Muggle shop or house. Like, last year, some old witch died and her tea set was sold to an antiques shop. This Muggle woman bought it, took it home, and tried to serve her friends tea in it. It was a nightmare - Dad was working overtime for weeks."**

"You know, Arthur, your department is really under unappreciated and really important." Sirius said.

"Arthur, without your department we would have been discovered, you should have a raise especially with how much work you do." Tonks added.

Arthur flushed at the praise.

**"What happened?"**

**"The teapot went berserk and squirted boiling tea all over the place and one man ended up in the hospital with the sugar tongs clamped to his nose.**

There were half laughs, half grimaces throughout the room.

**Dad was going frantic - it's only him and an old warlock called Perkins in the office -and they had to do Memory Charms and all sorts of stuff to cover it up -"**

**"But your dad - this car -"**

**Fred laughed.**

**"Yeah, Dad's crazy about everything to do with Muggles; our shed's full of Muggle stuff. He takes it apart, puts spells on it, and puts it back together again. If he raided our house he'd have to put himself under arrest.**

People laughed at trying to imagine that.

**It drives Mum mad."**

"I can imagine." Bill remarked. Charlie snorted.

**"That's the main road," said George, peering down through the windshield. "We'll be there in ten minutes ... Just as well, it's getting light . . . ."**

**A faint pinkish glow was visible along the horizon to the east.**

**Fred brought the car lower, and the twins saw a dark patchwork of fields and clumps of trees.**

**"We're a little way outside the village," said George. "Ottery St. Catchpole."**

**Lower and lower went the flying car. The edge of a brilliant red sun was now gleaming through the trees.**

"I love your descriptions." Cho said wistfully.

**"Touchdown!" said Fred as, with a slight bump, they hit the ground.**

People raised their eyebrows at this.

**They had landed next to a tumbledown garage in a small yard, and the twins looked out for the first time at Ron's house.**

**It looked as though it had once been a large stone pigpen, but extra rooms had been added here and there until it was several stories high and so crooked it looked as though it were held up by magic**

"It is." The Weasleys chorused.

**(which, the twins reminded themselves, it probably was). Four or five chimneys were perched on top of the red roof. A lopsided sign stuck in the ground near the entrance read, THE BURROW. Around the front door lay a jumble of rubber boots and a very rusty cauldron. Several fat brown chickens were pecking their way around the yard.**

**"It's not much," said Ron.**

**"It's wonderful," said Harry happily, thinking of Privet Drive.**

**"It's amazing." said Alex as she gazed at the large house in awe.**

"It is." The people who had been there mimicked.

**They got out of the car.**

**"Now, we'll go upstairs really quietly," said Fred, "and wait for Mum to call us for breakfast Then, Ron, you come bounding downstairs going, `Mum, look who turned up in the night!' and she'll be all pleased to see Harry and no one need ever know we flew the car."**

Everyone laughed at that and the twins looked disappointed at their past thoughts.

"Did you think that would actually work?" said Molly, looking appalled.

**"Right," said Ron. "Come on, Harry, I sleep at the - at the top…" Ron had gone a nasty greenish colour, his eyes fixed on the house.**

"Mrs. Weasley's there." Padma smirked

**The other four wheeled around. Mrs. Weasley was marching across the yard, scattering chickens, and for a short, plump, kind-faced woman, it was remarkable how much she looked like a sabre-toothed tiger.**

People laughed but the ones who had seen her nodded.

**"Ah, "said Fred.**

**"Oh, dear," said George.**

**"Told you so." Alex chided quietly, and Ron slightly elbowed her.**

"I was listening you know." said Ron, and Alex shrugged with a smirk on her face.

**Mrs. Weasley came to a halt in front of them, her hands on her hips, staring from one guilty face to the next. She was wearing a flowered apron with a wand sticking out of the pocket.**

**"So, "she said.**

**"Morning, Mum," said George, in what he clearly thought was a jaunty, winning voice.**

"That obvious." George sighed in disappointment.

**"Have you any idea how worried I've been?" said Mrs. Weasley in a deadly whisper.**

"Guilt trip." Charlie said disapproving.

**"Sorry, Mum, but see, we had to -"**

**All three of Mrs. Weasley's sons were taller than she was, but they cowered as her rage broke over them.**

People snickered.

**"**_**Beds empty! No note! Car gone**_ … **could have crashed … out of my mind with worry …did you care? …never, as long as I've lived…you wait until your father gets home, we never had trouble like this from Bill or Charlie or Percy …"**

"And that is why they don't think their good enough, because your always telling them to be someone else. Always comparing them to their brothers." Tonks shook her head.

**Frightened as she was, Alex had to disapprove of Mrs. Weasley's scolding methods. True, she appreciated the woman's help, and respected her greatly, but how could she not notice her sons' inferiority complex?**

**Harry briefly glanced at her as he heard her thoughts, but said or thought nothing.**

"Apologies, Mrs. Weasley." Alex gulped, readying herself from any lashing she may receive.

Harry sat there, looking anxious.

Molly sighed, "No need to be sorry, Alex dear. I... understand."

**"Perfect Percy," muttered Fred.**

**"YOU COULD DO WITH TAKING A LEAF OUT OF PERCY'S BOOK!" yelled Mrs. Weasley, prodding a finger in Fred's chest. "You could have died, you could have been seen, you could have lost your father his job -"**

Molly looked down, ashamed.

**It seemed to go on for hours. Mrs. Weasley had shouted herself hoarse before she turned on Harry and Alex, who both backed away.**

**"I'm very pleased to see you, dears," she said. "Come in and have some breakfast."**

**She turned and walked back into the house and Harry, after a nervous glance at Ron, who nodded encouragingly, followed her. The twins ushered Alex inside right after them.**

**The kitchen was small and rather cramped. There was a scrubbed wooden table and chairs in the middle, and Harry sat down on the edge of his seat, looking around. Neither he nor Alex had never been in a wizard house before.**

"That we remembered then." Harry corrected.

**The clock on the wall opposite them had only one hand and no numbers at all. Written around the edge were things like Time to make tea, Time to feed the chickens, and You're late. Books were stacked three deep on the mantelpiece, books with titles like Charm Your Own Cheese, Enchantment in Baking, and One Minute Feasts - It's Magic! And unless Harry's ears were deceiving him, the old radio next to the sink had just announced that coming up was "Witching Hour, with the popular singing sorceress, Celestina Warbeck."**

Fleur made a noise of disgust and a lot of people nodded in agreement.

**Mrs. Weasley was clattering around, cooking breakfast a little haphazardly, throwing dirty looks at her sons as she threw sausages into the frying pan. Every now and then she muttered things like "don't know what you were thinking of," and "never would have believed it."**

**"I don't blame you, dears," she assured Harry, tipping eight or nine sausages onto each of their plates.**

Madam Pomfrey nodded her approval.

**"Arthur and I have been worried about you, too. Just last night we were saying we'd come and get you ourselves if you hadn't written back to Ron by Friday. But really," (she was now adding three fried eggs to their plates) "flying an illegal car halfway across the country - anyone could have seen you -"**

**She flicked her wand casually at the dishes in the sink, which began to clean themselves, clinking gently in the background.**

"Wow." A couple of muggleborns said.

**"It was cloudy, Mum!" said Fred.**

**"You keep your mouth closed while you're eating!" Mrs. Weasley snapped.**

**"They were starving him, Mum!" said George.**

**"And you!" said Mrs. Weasley, but it was with a slightly softened expression that she started cutting Harry bread and buttering it for him.**

"I thought they made it up." Molly sighed.

"We wouldn't make that up." Fred and George cried, outraged.

"I'm sorry dears." said Molly, and moved to hug all three of her sons present at the incident.

**At that moment there was a diversion in the form of a small, redheaded figure in a long nightdress, who appeared in the kitchen, gave a small squeal, and ran out again.**

People burst out laughing and Ginny huffed.

**"Ginny," said Ron in an undertone to Harry. "My sister. She's been talking about you all summer."**

**Alex couldn't help the slight smirk that crossed her features, "How cute. I believe you have an admirer, brother dearest." Harry kicked her leg under the table for this.**

People laughed at the display.

Ginny shook her head, "And here I thought Alex was the nicer twin."

Cue snorts from the Slytherin house, and an indignant look from Alex.

Theo pecked the Potter female on the cheek, "Nah, she's the more temperamental one."

"Also the more violent one." piped Adrian.

**"Yeah, she'll be wanting your autograph, Harry," Fred said with a grin, but he caught his mother's eye and bent his face over his plate without another word. Nothing more was said until all four plates were clean, which took a surprisingly short time.**

**"Blimey, I'm tired," yawned Fred, setting down his knife and fork at last. "I think I'll go to bed and -"**

"You should let them rest." Madam Pomfrey said.

**"You will not," snapped Mrs. Weasley. "It's your own fault you've been up all night. You're going to de-gnome the garden for me; they're getting completely out of hand again -"**

**"Oh, Mum -"**

**"And you two," she said, glaring at Ron and Fred. "You can go up to bed, dears," she added to Harry and Alex. "You didn't ask them to fly that wretched car -"**

People by now were glaring at Molly, who looked very much ashamed.

**But Harry, who felt wide awake, said quickly, "I'll help Ron. I've never seen a de-gnoming -"**

**Alex nodded her agreement, "Me too. It could be fun to watch."**

"It was." Alex snickered, dodging a book thrown at her by Harry.

**"That's very sweet of you, dears, but it's dull work," said Mrs. Weasley. "Now, let's see what Lockhart's got to say on the subject -"**

All fifth years and above groaned.

**And she pulled a heavy book from the stack on the mantelpiece.**

**George groaned.**

**"Mum, we know how to de-gnome a garden -"**

**Harry looked at the cover of Mrs. Weasley's book. Written across it in fancy gold letters were the words Gilderoy Lockhart's Guide to Household Pests. There was a big photograph on the front of a very good-looking wizard with wavy blond hair and bright blue eyes. As always in the wizarding world, the photograph was moving; the wizard, who Harry supposed was Gilderoy Lockhart, kept winking cheekily up at them all.**

The boys looked sick and so did a few girls.

**Alex scrunched her nose slightly upon seeing the cover. The man looked like one of those arrogant ponces.**

There were nods and murmurs of agreement.

**Mrs. Weasley beamed down at him.**

**"Oh, he is marvellous," she said. "He knows his household pests, all right, it's a wonderful book . . . ."**

**"Mum fancies him," said Fred, in a very audible whisper.**

People laughed at that.

**"Don't be so ridiculous, Fred," said Mrs. Weasley, her cheeks rather pink. "All right, if you think you know better than Lockhart, you can go and get on with it, and woe betide you if there's a single gnome in that garden when I come out to inspect it."**

**Yawning and grumbling, the Weasleys slouched outside with Harry and Alex behind them. The garden was large, and in Harry's eyes, exactly what a garden should be. The Dursleys wouldn't have liked it – there were plenty of weeds, and the grass needed cutting but there were gnarled trees all around the walls, plants Harry had never seen spilling from every flower bed, and a big green pond full of frogs.**

A few people nodded while the other purebloods pulled faces.

"Each to their own." Hermione said before any arguments could start.

"And don't you lot dare say anything." Alex snapped at her fellow housemates.

**"Muggles have garden gnomes, too, you know," Harry told Ron they crossed the lawn.**

**"Yeah, I've seen those things they think are gnomes," said Ron, bent double with his head in a peony bush, "like fat little Santa Clauses with fishing rods . . . ."**

"Sounds right." Dennis agreed.

**There was a violent scuffling noise, the peony bush shuddered, and Ron straightened up. "This is a gnome," he said grimly.**

**"Gerroff me! Gerroff me!" squealed the gnome.**

**It was certainly nothing like Santa Claus. It was small and leathery looking, with a large, knobby, bald head exactly like a potato.**

Everyone laughed.

**"Eww." said Alex.**

Snape smirked and shook his head at the girl.

**Ron held it at arm's length as it kicked out at him with its horny little feet; he grasped it around the ankles and turned it upside down.**

**"This is what you have to do," he said. He raised the gnome above his head ("Gerroff me!") and started to swing it in great circles like a lasso. Seeing the shocked look on Harry's face and Alex's intrigued one, Ron added, "It doesn't hurt them - you've just got to make them really dizzy so they can't find their way back to the gnome holes."**

**He let go of the gnome's ankles: It flew twenty feet into the air and landed with a thud in the field over the hedge.**

**"Pitiful," said Fred. "I bet I can get mine beyond that stump."**

"Easy." The older Weasleys said.

**Harry learned quickly not to feel too sorry for the gnomes. He decided just to drop the first one he caught over the hedge, but the gnome, sensing weakness, sank its razor-sharp teeth into Harry's finger and he had a hard job shaking it off – until…**

**"Wow, Harry - that must've been fifty feet…"**

"We've got competition." Bill stated.

"You won't win." Harry smiled.

"You would have made a fair chaser." commented Alicia.

******Alex on the other hand, had burst into laughter. It really was a sight to see.**

"Of course she did." Harry smiled fondly.

**The air was soon thick with flying gnomes, and Alex had joined the boys in their gnome toss.**

**"See, they're not too bright," said George, seizing five or six gnomes at once. "The moment they know the de-gnoming's going on they storm up to have a look. You'd think they'd have learned by now just to stay put."**

**Soon, the crowd of gnomes in the field started walking away in a straggling line, their little shoulders hunched.**

**"They'll be back," said Ron as they watched the gnomes disappear into the hedge on the other side of the field. "They love it here ... Dad's too soft with them; he thinks they're funny . . . ."**

"Well they are." Arthur admitted.

**"That was fun." Alex smiled, "Almost as good as knocking Warrington off his broom with the quaffle..."**

The Slytherin team who had been present at the time smirked in amusement.

"Entertainment of every practice." said Miles Bletchley.

**"First slapping Malfoy, then knocking Warrington off his broom?" Fred mused.**

**"Is there no end to your violent nature?" George teased.**

"No." almost every single Slytherin and Gryffindor, a few Hufflepuffs and Ravenclaws chorused.

"Thanks guys." Alex huffed, yet a smile played on her lips.

**Just then, the front door slammed.**

**"He's back!" said George. "Dad's home!"**

**They hurried through the garden and back into the house.**

**Mr. Weasley was slumped in a kitchen chair with his glasses off and his eyes closed. He was a thin man, going bald, but the little hair he had was as red as any of his children's. He was wearing long green robes, which were dusty and travel-worn.**

**"What a night," he mumbled, groping for the teapot as they all sat down around him. "Nine raids. Nine! And old Mundungus Fletcher tried to put a hex on me when I had my back turned …"**

"He's hilarious but he's also a git." The twins said.

**Mr. Weasley took a long gulp of tea and sighed.**

**"Find anything, Dad?" said Fred eagerly.**

**"All I got were a few shrinking door keys and a biting kettle," yawned Mr. Weasley. "There was some pretty nasty stuff that wasn't my department, though. Mortlake was taken away for questioning about some extremely odd ferrets,**

People fifth year and up burst into laughter at the reminder of Malfoy once the ferrets were mention, and Malfoy sulked in his seat.

**but that's the Committee on Experimental Charms, thank goodness …"**

"I'd had enough to do."

**"Why would anyone bother making door keys shrink?" said George.**

**"Just Muggle-baiting," sighed Mr. Weasley. "Sell them a key that keeps shrinking to nothing so they can never find it when they need it ... Of course, it's very hard to convict anyone because no Muggle would admit their key keeps shrinking - they'll insist they just keep losing it. Bless them, they'll go to any lengths to ignore magic, even if it's staring them in the face ...**

"Ignorance is a bliss." said Hermione.

**But the things our lot have taken to enchanting, you wouldn't believe -"**

People winced.

**"LIKE CARS, FOR INSTANCE?"**

**Mrs. Weasley had appeared, holding a long poker like a sword. Mr. Weasley's eyes jerked open. He stared guiltily at his wife.**

**"C-cars, Molly, dear?"**

**"Yes, Arthur, cars," said Mrs. Weasley, her eyes flashing. "Imagine a wizard buying a rusty old car and telling his wife all he wanted to do with it was take it apart to see how it worked, while really he was enchanting it to make it fly."**

"And more." Ron and Harry muttered.

**Mr. Weasley blinked.**

**"Well, dear, I think you'll find that he would be quite within the law to do that, even if - er - he maybe would have done better to, um, tell his wife the truth ... There's a loophole in the law, you'll find ... As long as he wasn't intending to fly the car, the fact that the car could fly wouldn't -"**

Tonks laughed. "You wrote that law."

**"Arthur Weasley, you made sure there was a loophole when you wrote that law!" shouted Mrs. Weasley. "Just so you could carry on tinkering with all that Muggle rubbish in your shed! And for your information, Harry and Alexis arrived this morning in the car you weren't intending to fly!"**

**"Harry and Alexis?" said Mr. Weasley blankly. "Who are they?"**

"Thank you Mr. Weasley." Harry and Alex cried, Harry raising his hands in victory.

**He looked around, saw the twins, and jumped.**

**"Good lord, is it Harry and Alexis Potter? Very pleased to meet you, Ron's told us so much about -"**

**"Your sons flew that car to their house and back last night." shouted Mrs. Weasley. "What have you got to say about that, eh?"**

**"Did you really?" said Mr. Weasley eagerly. "Did it go all right?**

Everyone burst out laughing and most people where rolling on the floor.

**I – I mean," he faltered as sparks flew from Mrs. Weasley's eyes, "that - that was very wrong, boys - very wrong indeed ..."**

**"Let's leave them to it," Ron muttered to Harry as Mrs. Weasley swelled like a bullfrog. "Come on, I'll show you my bedroom."**

**They slipped out of the kitchen and down a narrow passageway to an uneven staircase, which wound its way, zigzagging up through the house. On the third landing, a door stood ajar. Harry just caught sight of a pair of bright brown eyes staring at him before it closed with a snap.**

People snorted and Ginny grumbled.

**"Ginny," said Ron. "You don't know how weird it is for her to be this shy. She never shuts up normally -"**

"Ron." Ginny growled.

**"Do you mind if I go talk to her? It would be could to have some female company for a while." Alex suddenly piped. Ron and Harry exchanged a look, before Ron shrugged.**

**"Knock yourself out, mate. Just don't forget to knock."**

**As Alex turned back to head to Ginny's room, Harry and Ron climbed two more flights until they reached a door with peeling paint and a small plaque on it, saying RONALD'S ROOM.**

**Harry stepped in, his head almost touching the sloping ceiling, and blinked. It was like walking into a furnace:**

People who'd seen his room snorted.

**Nearly everything in Ron's room seemed to be a violent shade of orange: the bedspread, the walls, even the ceiling. Then Harry realized that Ron had covered nearly every inch of the shabby wallpaper with posters of the same seven witches and wizards, all wearing bright orange robes, carrying broomsticks, and waving energetically.**

"Chudley Cannons." People groaned.

**"Your Quidditch team?" said Harry.**

**"The Chudley Cannons," said Ron, pointing at the orange bedspread, which was emblazoned with two giant black C's and a speeding cannonball. "Ninth in the league."**

"But aren't there only eight teams in the league?" asked Daphne, and many snickered upon hearing this. Alex turned to her best friend oddly.

"I thought you said you don't follow Quidditch?"

Daphne scowled, ignoring the somewhat smug look that appeared on Alex's face, "Shut it."

**Ron's school spell books were stacked untidily in a corner, next to a pile of comics that all seemed to feature The Adventures of Martin Miggs, the Mad Muggle.**

The muggle borns started laughing.

**Ron's magic wand was lying on top of a fish tank full of frogspawn on the windowsill, next to his fat gray rat, Scabbers, who was snoozing in a patch of sun.**

The trio, quartet, Remus and Sirius snarled at the mention of Pettigrew.

**Harry stepped over a pack of Self-Shuffling playing cards on the floor and looked out of the tiny window. In the field far below he could see a gang of gnomes sneaking one by one back through the Weasleys' hedge. Then he turned to look at Ron, who was watching him almost nervously, as though waiting for his opinion.**

**"It's a bit small," said Ron quickly. "Not like that room you had with the Muggles. And I'm right underneath the ghoul in the attic; he's always banging on the pipes and groaning ..."**

**But Harry, grinning widely, said, "This is the best house I've ever been in."**

"Still say it is."

**Ron's ears went pink.**

**Alex hesitantly knocked on Ginny's door, the young girl letting out an "Eep!" as she saw who was standing there as she opened it. Alex smiled.**

**"Hello Ginny. Do you mind if I come in to talk for a bit? I could use the company."**

**Ginny, still speechless, could only nod.**

**Alex looked around as she stepped in. Ginny's room was awfully tidy. Mrs. Weasley must have spent a lot of time making sure it stayed this way. The walls were a nice Gryffindor red. There was a single bed in the corner, a wardrobe, and a half-full bookshelf.**

Molly nodded.

**"A-Alexis Potter?" Ginny finally stammered out.**

**"Please, call me Alex. All my friends do."**

**Ginny's eyes grew wide and she sat on her bed, "O-Oh. Okay." There was a moment of silence, before Ginny looked up at the raven-haired girl. "You can sit down."**

**Alex took the spot next to Ginny on the bed, "You don't have to act so nervous around my brother and I, you know. We're nothing special."**

**"But you defeated You-Know-Who!" Ginny cried. "Twice!"**

**"Nothing more than luck." remarked Alex off-handedly.**

"Very true." Harry agreed.

**"You're a nice girl Ginny. I'd really like it if we became friends, even if we aren't in the same house."**

**At this, Ginny blinked, "You're not in Gryffindor?"**

**"No. I'm in Slytherin." Alex's turned to the young redhead, quite amused on the shocked expression on her face. "I'm not like the rest of them though. Most of them don't like me, all because I often take Harry's side."**

**It was not long, before a bright smile crossed Ginny's lips, "I'd love to be friends with you Alex. Well, as long as you aren't friends with that Malfoy kid Ron's been ranting about."**

**Alex snorted, "Are you kidding me? I hate the bloke."**

"Chapter." Katie called out. "I never did get how those two became friends."

"And you'll never know until the third book, Bell."

"I'll read next." Bill smiled and levitated the book over.

* * *

**I hope you all liked this chapter. Anyways, please review!**

** ~Cassandra**


	4. At Flourish and Blotts

**Guys, I'm really sorry for the super late update. So, I'm going to skip my stupid excuses and go on with the story.**

**Be sure to check out my new story "Riddle Me This". It's a time-travel fic, but with a different twist!**

**And my new one-shot, "Ballad of a Broken Soul".**

**Anywho, enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Harry Potter; it all belongs to J.K Rowling and Warner Brothers Inc. However, I do own Alex.

**Pairings:** All are canon with the exception of my Theo/OC pairing, and possible Blaise/Daphne.

* * *

"**At Flourish and Blotts**" Bill began.

**Life at the Burrow was as different as possible from life on Privet Drive.**

"Good." All the Weasleys chorused.

**The Dursleys liked everything neat and ordered;**

"Boring." Lee called to much agreement.

**the Weasleys' house burst with the strange and unexpected.**

All who had visited nodded fondly.

**Harry got a shock the first time he looked in the mirror over the kitchen mantelpiece**

The Weasleys snorted.

**and it shouted, "Tuck your shirt in, scruffy!"**

"Said that to James too." Arthur laughed.

"Huh, I'm surprised it didn't mention the hair." Alex snorted. Those who heard snickered.

**The ghoul in the attic howled and dropped pipes whenever he felt things were getting too quiet, and small explosions from Fred and George's bedroom were considered perfectly normal.**

Remus started laughing with Sirius but didn't explain.

**Alex often spent her time with Ginny. The two had gotten awfully close, seeing as they - other than Mrs. Weasley - were the only girls in a house full of boys.**

"Like that's ever stopped you before." Montague mused.

**What the twins found most unusual about life at Ron's, however, wasn't the talking mirror or the clanking ghoul: It was the fact that everybody there seemed to like them.**

"That shouldn't be unusual." McGonagall sighed.

**Mrs. Weasley fussed over the state of Alex's socks and tried to force her to eat fourth helpings at every meal.**

People stopped glaring at Molly and smiled at her, Harry deserved to be fussed over.

**Mr. Weasley liked Harry to sit next to him at the dinner table so that he could bombard him with questions about life with Muggles, asking him to explain how things like plugs and the postal service worked.**

People laughed, that was so Arthur.

**"Fascinating." he would say as Harry talked him through using a telephone. "Ingenious, really, how many ways Muggles have found of getting along without magic."**

Some people nodded in agreement.

**The twins heard from Hogwarts one sunny morning about a week after he had arrived at the Burrow.**

**Harry, Alex, and Ron went down to breakfast to find Mr. and Mrs. Weasley and Ginny already sitting at the kitchen table. The moment she saw Harry, Ginny accidentally knocked her porridge bowl to the floor with a loud clatter, and Alex had to bite down on her bottom lip to keep herself from laughing.**

People laughed as Ginny blushed.

**After their talk, Alex had hoped that Ginny would start to treat them both normally, but Ginny seemed very prone to knocking things over whenever Harry entered a room. It didn't take her long to notice what it was really about.**

"Ah, the regular school girl crush." Alex snickered, ducking when a book came flying her way and narrowly missing her head. Huh, Ginny would have made a brilliant chaser.

**Ginny dived under the table to retrieve the bowl and emerged with her face glowing like the setting sun. ****Pretending he hadn't noticed this, Harry sat down and took the toast Mrs. Weasley offered him.**

"So sweet." A lot of girls muttered.

**"Letters from school," said Mr. Weasley, passing Harry, Alex and Ron identical envelopes of yellowish parchment, addressed in green ink.**

"What is with all the green?" Ron asked.

"House unity?" People snorted at Dennis' suggestion.

Blaise raised an eyebrow, "Right. And next we'll be seeing Professor Snape in a bright red top-hat."

The majority of the hall erupted in snickers as they pictured this, and Snape sent a disapproving smirk Blaise's way.

**"Dumbledore already knows you're here,you two - doesn't miss a trick, that man. You two've got them, too," he added, as Fred and George ambled in, still in their pyjamas.**

The people who had seen them in a morning snorted.

**"Don't you both look adorable with bed heads." Alex drawled, making Fred and George grin at her.**

Theo scowled at the Weasley twins, pulling Alex to his lap despite her half hearted protests, Remus raising an eyebrow at the boy.

**For a few minutes there was silence as they all read their letters.**

**Harry's and Alex's told them to catch the Hogwarts Express as usual from King's Cross station on September first. There was also a list of the new books they'd need for the coming year.**

_**SECOND-YEAR STUDENTS WILL REQUIRE:**_

_**The Standard Book of Spells, Grade 2**_

_**by Miranda Goshawk**_

_**Break with a Banshee by Gilderoy Lockhart**_

_**Gadding with Ghouls by Gilderoy Lockhart**_

_**Holidays with Hags by Gilderoy Lockhart**_

_**Travels with Trolls by Gilderoy Lockhart**_

_**Voyages with Vampires by Gilderoy Lockhart**_

_**Wanderings with Werewolves by Gilderoy Lockhart**_

_**Year with the Yeti by Gilderoy Lockhart**_

Majority of the hall groaned bar all the pro Lockharts, who looked confused.

"Those books were bloody ridiculous." sneered Malfoy.

"I think I've actually lost a couple of brain cells after reading those." added Daphne.

"I'm surprised that ponce actually managed to write a book." snorted Sirius.

Remis nodded, looking around the hall, "He was a Ravenclaw, you know. How he got into this house, I'd never know." All the Ravenclaws looked horrified at this information, and Alex snorted.

"The day that man grows a brain fit for Ravenclaw would be the day Harry and I quit Quidditch." she said.

Marcus chuckled, "In other words, never going to happen."

Umbridge huffed silently. Surely Lockhart was a respectable man, with all the things he's done. These hooligans didn't know a true hero.

**Fred, who had finished his own list, peered over at Harry's.**

**"You've been told to get all Lockhart's books, too!" he said. "The new Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher must be a fan - bet it's a witch."**

"Close enough." Lee said loudly and laughter filled the hall.

"A fan girl would have been better than the actual twat though." said Harry.

**At this point, Fred caught his mother's eye and quickly busied himself with the marmalade.**

**"That lot won't come cheap," said George, with a quick look at his parents. "Lockhart's books are really expensive ..."**

**"Well, we'll manage," said Mrs. Weasley, but she looked worried. "I expect we'll be able to pick up a lot of Ginny's things second-hand."**

**"Oh, are you starting at Hogwarts this year?" Harry asked Ginny.**

**She nodded, blushing to the roots of her flaming hair, and put her elbow in the butter dish.**

Snorts echoed.

**Fortunately no one saw this except Harry and Alex, the latter snickering quietly,**

"Gee, thanks Alex."

"I love you too Gin."

**because just then Ron's elder brother Percy walked in. He was already dressed, his Hogwarts prefect badge pinned to his sweater vest.**

"It was the holidays and you where wearing your prefect badge." A Slytherin prefect said in disbelief.

**"Morning, all," said Percy briskly. "Lovely day."**

**He sat down in the only remaining chair but leapt up again almost immediately, pulling from underneath him a moulting, gray feather duster - at least, that was what Harry thought it was, until he saw that it was breathing.**

**"Errol!" said Ron,**

"He's still alive?" Remus exclaimed in shock.

**taking the limp owl from Percy and extracting a letter from under its wing. "Finally - he's got Hermione's answer. I wrote to her saying we were going to try and rescue you from the Dursleys."**

"Rescue was right." Remus muttered.

Tonks nodded, "Good thing too."

**He carried Errol to a perch just inside the back door and tried to stand him on it, but Errol flopped straight off again so Ron lay him on the draining board instead, muttering, "Pathetic."**

**Then he ripped open Hermione's letter and read it out loud:**

_**Dear Ron, and Harry and Alex if you're there,**_

_**I hope everything went all right and that the twins are okay**_

"They were by then." Astoria muttered.

_**and that you didn't do anything illegal to get them out, Ron,**_

"Ah, thank Merlin for Mr. Weasley's loophole in the law." Alex mused, earning Arthur a glare from his wife.

_**because that would get them into trouble, too.**_

"As if we weren't already in trouble." said Harry.

Hermione shook he head. "You both have awful luck,"

_**I've been really worried and if Harry and Alex are all right, will you please let me know at once, but perhaps it would be better if you used a different owl because I think another delivery might finish your one off.**_

"I'm surprised it didn't." said Fred.

_**I'm very busy with schoolwork, of course-**_

**"How can she be?" said Ron in horror. "We're on vacation!"**

"You still get Homework." Professor Sinistra pointed out.

"He leaves to last minute." Hermione and Harry replied.

**_-and we're going to London next Wednesday to buy my new books. Why don't we meet in Diagon Alley?_ _Let me know what's happening as soon as you can._**

_**Love from Hermione.**_

"Love." Dean smirked.

"I was writing to a friend and possibly my brother and sister." Hermione defended.

"Just a friend?" Harry and Alex chorused with identical smirks.

"Oh shut up, both of you." snapped Hermione, a blush adorning her cheeks.

**"Well, that fits in nicely, we can go and get all your things then, too," said Mrs. Weasley, starting to clear the table. "What're you all up to today?"**

"Quidditch." A lot of people chorused.

**Harry, Ron, Alex, Fred, and George were planning to go up the hill to a small paddock the Weasleys owned. It was surrounded by trees that blocked it from view of the village below, meaning that they could practice Quidditch there, as long as they didn't fly too high**

**They couldn't use real Quidditch balls, which would have been hard to explain if they had escaped and flown away over the village; instead they threw apples for one another to catch.**

"You know, I think I'll buy you a football." Harry said thinking it would be easier and Ron wouldn't want to eat it.

**They took turns riding Harry's and Alex's Nimbus Two Thousands, which was easily the best broom;**

A lot of people nodded.

**Ron's old Shooting Star was often outstripped by passing butterflies.**

Snickers echoed in the hall.

**Five minutes later they were marching up the hill, broomsticks over their shoulders. They had asked Percy if he wanted to join them, but he had said he was busy. The twins had only seen Percy at mealtimes so far; he stayed shut in his room the rest of the time.**

**"Wish I knew what he was up to," said Fred, frowning.**

**"He's not himself. His exam results came the day before you did; twelve O.W.L's and he hardly gloated at all."**

"What does that mean?" Percy said abruptly.

"You always gloat." Ron said.

"That's why we make fun of you." Fred and George added.

**"Ordinary Wizarding Levels," George explained, seeing Harry and Alex's puzzled looks. "Bill got twelve, too. If we're not careful, we'll have another Head Boy in the family. I don't think I could stand the shame."**

"What's wrong with being Head Boy?" Bill asked indignantly.

"James was head boy." Remus smiled.

"And he was the worst prankster in school." Professor Flitwick sighed.

"Still don't know what you where thinking Albus." McGonagall groaned.

"Bet he got away with a lot of pranks." Alex mused.

Harry chuckled, "People would never suspect the Head Boy."

Sirius and Remus laughed, "True."

**Bill was the oldest Weasley brother. He and the next brother, Charlie, had already left Hogwarts. Neither Harry nor Alex had met either of them, but knew that Charlie was in Romania studying dragons**

Charlie smiled proudly.

**and Bill in Egypt working for the wizard's bank, Gringotts.**

"I'm a Curse breaker." said Bill.

**"Dunno how Mum and Dad are going to afford all our school stuff this year," said George after a while. "Five sets of Lockhart books! And Ginny needs robes and a wand and everything …"**

"You shouldn't worry about that." Molly sighed. _They shouldn't have to._

Remus and Sirius noticed the silent conversation between Harry and Alex.

**The twins said nothing. They felt a bit awkward. Stored in an underground vault at Gringotts in London was a small fortune that their parents had left them.**

"Small?" Malfoy scoffed. "Potter, your family is one of the wealthiest in the Wizarding World. That was only a trust vault."

"The blonde bugger's right." said Sirius, ignoring Malfoy's glare, "You don't get access to the main vault until you're of age, but there is more where your trust fund came from."

"Which is why we insist that the Weasley's take the money we are offering them." said Alex seriously, and Molly was quick to argue.

"Oh dear, you don't have to - "

Harry quickly added, "Think of it as a repayment for everything you've done for us. After all, you lot are family."

"And we'll still deposit the money into your vaults if you say no." Alex grinned, along with Harry.

The Weasleys were thanking them profusely, and Molly pulled Harry into a crushing hug (as he was the closest), making Alex laugh at her twin's wide eyed look of surprise.

**Of course, it was only in the wizarding world that they had money; you couldn't use Galleons, Sickles, and Knuts in Muggle shops.**

"I know you can change them and there is a muggle cloths shop in Diagon Alley, We've done it in third year." Harry said.

"Good thing too." Astoria giggled.

Blaise smirked, "Merlin knows if Alex keeps walking around in a guy's shirt, Theo would have trouble not shagging her on the spot - OW!"

Theo thwacked Blaise upside the head, and Alex pecked her boyfriend on the cheek.

**Neither had mentioned their Gringotts bank account to the Dursleys; they didn't think their horror of anything connected with magic would stretch to a large pile of gold.**

A lot of people in the hall growled.

**Mrs. Weasley woke them all early the following Wednesday. After a quick half a dozen bacon sandwiches each, they pulled on their coats and Mrs. Weasley took a flowerpot off the kitchen mantelpiece and peered inside.**

**"We're running low, Arthur," she sighed. "We'll have to buy some more today... Ah well, guests first! After you, Harry dear!"And she offered him the flowerpot. Harry stared at them all watching him.**

**"W-what am I supposed to do?" he stammered.**

**"He's never travelled by Floo powder," said Ron suddenly. "Sorry, Harry, I forgot."**

"He just seems to adapt." Ron protested and the Weasleys nodded.

"It's true, I forget." Hermione added.

**"Never?" said Mr. Weasley. "But how did you two get to Diagon Alley to buy your school things last year?"**

**"Hagrid took us." said Alex, "We went on the Underground -"**

**"Really?" said Mr. Weasley eagerly. "Were there escapators?**

The muggle borns laughed. "It's escalators Mr. Weasley." Justin said.

**How exactly -"**

**"Not now, Arthur," said Mrs. Weasley. "Floo powder's a lot quicker, dear, but goodness me, if you've never used it before -"**

**"They'll be all right, Mum," said Fred.**

The Weasleys laughed.

**"How about you, Alex dear? Have you ever traveled by Floo?" asked Mrs. Weasley.**

**Alex shook her head. "A couple of my house mates explained how it works, but I've never actually tried before."**

**Fred nodded at this." All right then. Harry, Alex, watch us first."**

**He took a pinch of glittering powder out of the flowerpot, stepped up to the fire, and threw the powder into the flames. With a roar, the fire turned emerald green and rose higher than Fred, who stepped right into it, shouted, "Diagon Alley!" and vanished.**

"WOW!" A lot of muggle raised exclaimed.

"It's more nauseating than it actually looks." said Harry.

**"You must speak clearly, dear," Mrs. Weasley told the twins as George dipped his hand into the flowerpot. "And be sure to get out at the right grate ..."**

**"The right what?" said Alex nervously as the fire roared and whipped George out of sight, too.**

**"Well, there are an awful lot of wizard fires to choose from, you know, but as long as you've spoken clearly -"**

"That's just confusing them." McGonagall sighed.

**"They'll be fine, Molly, don't fuss," said Mr. Weasley, helping himself toFloo powder, too.**

**"But, dear, if either of them got lost, how would we ever explain to their aunt and uncle?"**

Alex snorted, "Like they'd care."

**"They wouldn't mind," Harry reassured her. "Dudley would think it was a brilliant joke if we got lost up a chimney,**

"When you say it like that it is funny." Susan said with a laugh.

**don't worry about that -"**

**"Well ... all right ... you go after Arthur," said Mrs. Weasley. "Now, when you get into the fire, say where you're going…"**

**"And keep your elbows tucked in," Ron advised.**

**"And your eyes shut," said Mrs. Weasley. "The soot -"**

**"Don't fidget," said Ron. "Or you might well fall out of the wrong fireplace -"**

**"But don't panic and get out too early; wait until you see Fred and George."**

"That will confuse them." Madame Hooch confirmed.

**Trying hard to bear all this in mind, Harry took a pinch of Floo powder and walked to the edge of the fire. He took a deep breath, scattered the powder into the flames, and stepped forward; the fire felt like a warm breeze; he opened his mouth and immediately swallowed a lot of hot ash.**

A couple of people winced.

**"D-Dia-gon Alley," he coughed.**

And more at that.

**The fire roared, and Alex watched as her brother disappeared with the flames, taking a pinch of Floo powder and following suit.**

**"Diagon Alley!" she stated, throwing the Floo powder into the flames.**

**It was like being squeezed together and forced through a tiny hole. Everything around her was a whirl, her blood pounding loudly in her ears, and she could feel the bile slowly rising in her stomach, then it stopped. The next thing she knew, a pair of arms caught her as she toppled out the fireplace.**

**"Easy there, Alex." came the voice of one of the Weasley twins. She couldn't tell which though, her head was still pounding.**

"You're lucky that would be the only time you couldn't tell them apart, lass." Oliver chuckled. "Bloody infuriating when they pretend to be each other."

**"I never want to to that again." she muttered as she finally managed to stand on her own without swaying, and looked around. "Where's Harry?"**

**"You mean he went before you did?" the twin that had caught her, which she now knew to be George, asked.**

"How the bloody hell -"

"Language, Fred!" Molly scolded.

"- do you manage to tell us apart?"

"Not telling," Both Harry and Alex chorused.

**Alex nodded.**

**"Well, he hasn't come out of the fireplace yet, so I'm guessing he came out some other grate." said Fred, making Alex sigh.**

**"Honestly, his luck is unbelievable."**

"You're one to talk." Ginny giggled.

**It felt as though he was being sucked down a giant drain. He seemed to be spinning very fast - the roaring in his ears was deafening –he tried to keep his eyes open but the whirl of green flames made him feel sick - something hard knocked his elbow and he tucked it in tightly, still spinning and spinning - now it felt as though cold hands were slapping his face - squinting through his glasses he saw a blurred stream of fireplaces and snatched glimpses of the rooms beyond – his bacon sandwiches were churning inside him - he closed his eyes again wishing it would stop, ****and then he fell, face forward, onto cold stone and felt the bridge of his glasses snap.**

"We should really think about getting you contacts." Alex sighed.

"Contacts?" asked Arthur.

"Little pieces of plastic that muggles put in their eyes so they could see better." Hermione explained.

**Dizzy and bruised, covered in soot, he got gingerly to his feet, holding his broken glasses up to his eyes. He was quite alone, but where he was, he had no idea. All he could tell was that he was standing in the stone fireplace of what looked like a large, dimly lit wizard's shop – but nothing in here was ever likely to be on a Hogwarts school list.**

"No, no, no." Sirius muttered.

**A glass case nearby held a withered hand on a cushion, a bloodstained pack of cards, and a staring glass eye.**

The mutterings got worse as people started to recognise the place.

**Evil-looking masks stared down from the walls, an assortment of human bones lay upon the counter, and rusty, spiked instruments hung from the ceiling.**

Some people looked sick.

**Even worse, the dark, narrow street Harry could see through the dusty shop window was definitely not Diagon Alley.**

"I was bloody worried." Alex shook her head, "The pictures of that bloody shop flashing in your mind were horrid, and I had no idea where you were.

**The sooner he got out of here, the better.**

"Good." Tonks said.

**Nose still stinging where it had hit the hearth, Harry made his way swiftly and silently toward the door, but before he'd got halfway toward it, two people appeared on the other side of the glass - and one of them was the very last person Harry wanted to meet when he was lost, covered in soot, and wearing broken glasses: Draco Malfoy.**

Malfoy's eyes widened, so did the Ministry officials, while the twins smirked.

**Harry looked quickly around and spotted a large black cabinet to his left; he shot inside it and pulled the doors closed, leaving a small crack to peer through. Seconds later, a bell clanged, and Malfoy stepped into the shop.**

**The man who followed could only be Draco's father.**

**He had the same pale, pointed face and identical cold, gray eyes. Mr. Malfoy crossed the shop, looking lazily at the items on display, and rang a bell on the counter before turning to his son and saying, "Touch nothing, Draco."**

"Good advice in that shop." Charlie sighed.

**Malfoy, who had reached for the glass eye, said, "I thought you were going to buy me a present."**

**"I said I would buy you a racing broom," said his father, drumming his fingers on the counter.**

"Or the whole team." Cho spoke up.

**"What's the good of that if I'm not on the House team?" said Malfoy, looking sulky and bad-tempered. "Harry and Alex Potter got Nimbus Two Thousands last year. Special permission from Dumbledore so Harry Potter could play for Gryffindor. He's not even that good, it's just because he's famous ... famous for having a stupid scar on his forehead . . . ."**

"Thank you, at least we agree on something." Harry rolled his eyes.

**"Then there's Alex Potter, the first girl to get on the Slytherin Quidditch team." Malfoy said this mockingly, "Bet Flint just took pity on her and just placed her on the team so he won't be stripped of his captain-ship. . ."**

"No, that's what I did for you." Marcus shook his head.

**_Bigoted little arse,_ Harry could practically hear his sister's voice mutter in his head.**

Alex snickered, "You did."

**Malfoy bent down to examine a shelf full of skulls.**

**". . . everyone thinks they're so smart,**

"No, they don't." Harry laughed. "Everyone knows Hermione is the brains of the group."

**wonderful Potters with their scars and their broomsticks -"**

"I was jealous." Malfoy admitted begrudgingly. "You're both excellent flyers."

"You're a great flyer too Dray, if only you'd stop taunting my brother _during_ the game." added Alex with a sly smirk.

**"You have told me this at least a dozen times already," said Mr. Malfoy, with a quelling look at his son.**

"You talk about them often?" Angelina snickered.

**"And I would remind you that it is not - prudent - to appear less than fond of the Potters, not when most of our kind regard them as the heroes who made the Dark Lord disappear - ah, Mr. Borgin."**

**A stooping man had appeared behind the counter, smoothing his greasy hair back from his face.**

"Your cousin, Severus." People stared at McGonagall in shock but couldn't fight the waves of laughter. Despite the jibe at him, Snape's lip twitched.

"Nice one, Minnie." Fred and George chorused with a high-five.

**"Mr. Malfoy, what a pleasure to see you again," said Mr. Borgin in a voice as oily as his hair. "Delighted - and young Master Malfoy, too - charmed. How may I be of assistance? I must show you, just in today, and very reasonably priced -"**

**"I'm not buying today, Mr. Borgin, but selling," said Mr. Malfoy.**

"Today means he's bought before." Bill paused his reading and pointed out.

Tonks grinned, and started scribbling on a piece of parchment.

**"Selling?" The smile faded slightly from Mr. Borgin's face.**

**"You have heard, of course, that the Ministry is conducting more raids," said Mr. Malfoy, taking a roll of parchment from his inside pocket and unravelling it for Mr. Borgin to read. "I have a few - ah - items at home that might embarrass me, if the Ministry were to call..."**

**Mr. Borgin fixed a pair of pince-nez to his nose and looked down the list.**

**"The Ministry wouldn't presume to trouble you, sir, surely?"**

"I wouldn't have thought that with how much he bribes them."

"Auror Tonks!" Umbridge shrieked.

Tonks rolled her eyes.

**Mr. Malfoy's lip curled.**

**"I have not been visited yet. The name Malfoy still commands a certain respect, yet the Ministry grows ever more meddlesome. There are rumours about a new Muggle Protection Act - no doubt that flea-bitten, Muggle-loving fool Arthur Weasley is behind it.'**

**Harry felt a hot surge of anger.**

As did many in the room.

**"- and as you see, certain of these poisons might make it appear -"**

"Awful man!" Katie snarled.

**"I understand, sir, of course," said Mr. Borgin. "Let me see. . ."**

**"Can I have that?" interrupted Draco, pointing at the withered hand on its cushion.**

**"Ah, the Hand of Glory!" said Mr. Borgin, abandoning Mr. Malfoy's list and scurrying over to Draco. "Insert a candle and it gives light only to the holder! Best friend of thieves and plunderers! Your son has fine taste, sir."**

"Even we admit that." Adrian sighed.

**"I hope my son will amount to more than a thief or a plunderer, Borgin," said Mr. Malfoy coldly, and Mr. Borgin said quickly, "No offense, sir, no offense meant -"**

**"Though if his grades don't pick up," said Mr. Malfoy, more coldly still, "that may indeed be all he is fit for -"**

"Mr. Malfoy is one of the best in the year." Flitwick argued, and Malfoy perked up.

"Really?"

Professor Vector nodded, "Third to only Miss Granger and Mr. Nott."

"You outdid the Ravenclaws. Well done, mate." Blaise grinned.

**"It's not my fault," retorted Draco. "The teachers all have favourites,**

The teacher all tried to deny that but soon gave up.

**that Hermione Granger -"**

**"I would have thought you'd be ashamed that a girl of no wizard family beat you in every exam," snapped Mr. Malfoy.**

"She's smart, where you come from has nothing to do with it." Parvarti snapped.

**"Ha!" said Harry under his breath, pleased to see Draco looking both abashed and angry.**

Harry winced, "Sorry."

Malfoy waved off his apology, "No need."

**"It's the same all over," said Mr. Borgin, in his oily voice. "Wizard blood is counting for less everywhere -"**

**"Not with me," said Mr. Malfoy, his long nostrils flaring.**

**"No, sir, nor with me, sir," said Mr. Borgin, with a deep bow.**

"Suck up." Montague snorted.

**"In that case, perhaps we can return to my list," said Mr. Malfoy shortly. "I am in something of a hurry, Borgin, I have important business elsewhere today -"**

Ginny twitched slightly.

**They started to haggle. Harry watched nervously as Draco drew nearer and nearer to his hiding place, examining the objects for sale. Draco paused to examine a long coil of hangman's rope and to read, smirking, the card propped on a magnificent necklace of opals, Caution: Do Not Touch. Cursed - Has Claimed the Lives of Nineteen Muggle Owners to Date.**

**Draco turned away and saw the cabinet right in front of him. He walked forward - he stretched out his hand for the handle…**

"Good thing I didn't find you then." Malfoy sighed.

**"Done," said Mr. Malfoy at the counter. "Come, Draco -"**

**Harry wiped his forehead on his sleeve as Draco turned away.**

**"Good day to you, Mr. Borgin. I'll expect you at the manor tomorrow to pick up the goods."**

**The moment the door had closed, Mr. Borgin dropped his oily manner.**

"Of course." Millicent muttered.

**"Good day yourself, Mister Malfoy, and if the stories are true, you haven't sold me half of what's hidden in your manor ..."**

Arthur and Tonks perked up, and Umbridge huffed.

**Muttering darkly, Mr. Borgin disappeared into a back room. Harry waited for a minute in case he came back, then, quietly as he could, slipped out of the cabinet, past the glass cases, and out of the shop door.**

Remus nodded at the same time as Sirius.

**Clutching his broken glasses to his face, Harry stared around. He had emerged into a dingy alleyway that seemed to be made up entirely of shops devoted to the Dark Arts.**

**The one he'd just left, Borgin and Burkes, looked like the largest, but opposite was a nasty window display of shrunken heads and, two doors down, a large cage was alive with gigantic black spiders.**

Ron and Alex shuddered.

**Two shabby-looking wizards were watching him from the shadow of a doorway, muttering to each other.**

"They recognised you." Molly fretted.

**Feeling jumpy, Harry set off, trying to hold his glasses on straight and hoping against hope he'd be able to find a way out of here. An old wooden street sign hanging over a shop selling poisonous candles told him he was in Knockturn Alley. This didn't help, as Harry had never heard of such a place. He supposed he hadn't spoken clearly enough through his mouthful of ashes back in the Weasleys' fire.**

**Trying to stay calm, he wondered what to do.**

**_Dear Merlin Harry! Where are you?_ Alex's voice echoed in his head. He wished he could answer, but he didn't know where he was himself.**

**"Not lost are you, my dear?" said a voice in his ear, making him jump.**

A couple of people cursed.

**An aged witch stood in front of him, holding a tray of what looked horribly like whole human fingernails. She leered at him, showing mossy teeth. Harry backed away.**

**"I'm fine, thanks," he said. "I'm just -"**

**"HARRY! What d'yeh think yer doin' down there?"**

A lot of people cheered.

**Harry's heart leapt. So did the witch; a load of fingernails cascaded down over her feet and she cursed as the massive form of Hagrid, the Hogwarts gamekeeper, came striding toward them, beetle-black eyes flashing over his great bristling beard.**

"Thank you." said Sirius in relief.

**"Hagrid!" Harry croaked in relief. "I was lost - Floo powder -"**

**Hagrid seized Harry by the scruff of the neck and pulled him away from the witch, knocking the tray right out of her hands. Her shrieks followed them all the way along the twisting alleyway out into bright sunlight. Harry saw a familiar, snow-white marble building in the distance - Gringotts Bank. Hagrid had steered him right into Diagon Alley.**

**"Yer a mess!" said Hagrid gruffly, brushing soot off Harry so forcefully he nearly knocked him into a barrel of dragon dung outside an apothecary.**

"Sorry Harry." Hagrid apologised.

**"Skulkin' around Knockturn Alley, I dunno dodgy place, Harry - don' want no one ter see yeh down there -"**

**"I realized that," said Harry, ducking as Hagrid made to brush him off again.**

**"I told you, I was lost - what were you doing down there, anyway?"**

**"I was lookin' fer a Flesh-Eatin' Slug Repellent," growled Hagrid. "They're ruinin' the school cabbages. Yer not on yer own?"**

**"Alex and I are staying with the Weasleys but we got separated," Harry explained. "I've got to go and find them . . . ."**

"Molly and the others would be frantic." said McGonagall.

George laughed, "We know Alex was."

**They set off together down the street.**

**"How come yeh never wrote back ter me?" said Hagrid as Harry jogged alongside him (he had to take three steps to every stride of Hagrid's enormous boots). Harry explained all about Dobby and the Dursleys.**

"Zee edited version?." Fleur guessed.

**"Lousy Muggles," growled Hagrid. "If I'd've known -"**

**"Harry! Harry! Over here!"**

**Harry looked up and saw Hermione Granger standing at the top of the white flight of steps to Gringotts. She ran down to meet them, her bushy brown hair flying behind her.**

**"What happened to your glasses?"**

"What, no hello?" Viktor joked making people (bar Hermione, who huffed) laugh.

**Hello, Hagrid - Oh, it's wonderful to see you two again - Are you coming into Gringotts, Harry?"**

**"As soon as I've found Alex and the Weasleys," said Harry.**

**"Yeh won't have long ter wait," Hagrid said with a grin.**

**Harry and Hermione looked around: Sprinting up the crowded street were Alex, Ron, Fred, George, Percy, and Mr. Weasley.**

**Harry grunted as Alex tackled him in a hug. "If you ever do that again I'll slap you so hard your grandchildren will feel it." she hissed as she let go.**

Malfoy, Flint, Blaise, Bletchley, Adrian and Montague all rubbed their cheeks with a wince.

**"Harry," Mr. Weasley panted. "We hoped you'd only gone one grate too far." He mopped his glistening bald patch. "Molly's frantic –**

For some reason someone burst out laughing.

**she's coming now -"**

**"Where did you come out?" Ron asked.**

**"Knockturn Alley," said Hagrid grimly.**

**"Excellent." said Fred and George together.**

"Not." They corrected.

**"We've never been allowed in," said Ron enviously.**

**"I should ruddy well think not," growled Hagrid.**

**Mrs. Weasley now came galloping into view, her handbag swinging wildly in one hand, Ginny just clinging onto the other.**

"Awww!" Alex and Hermione cooed mockingly.

**"Oh, Harry - oh, my dear - you could have been anywhere -"**

**Gasping for breath she pulled a large clothes brush out of her bag and began sweeping off the soot Hagrid hadn't managed to beat away. Mr. Weasley took Harry's glasses, gave them a tap of his wand, and returned them, good as new.**

"Again, we should really get you contacts."

**"Well, gotta be off," said Hagrid, who was having his hand wrung by Mrs. Weasley ("Knockturn Alley! If you hadn't found him, Hagrid!"). "See yer at Hogwarts!" And he strode away, head and shoulders taller than anyone else in the packed street.**

**"Guess who I saw in Borgin and Burkes?" Harry asked Alex, Ron and Hermione as they climbed the Gringotts steps. "Malfoy and his father."**

**"Did Lucius Malfoy buy anything?" said Mr. Weasley sharply behind them.**

**"No, he was selling -'**

**"So he's worried," said Mr. Weasley with grim satisfaction. "Oh, I'd love to get Lucius Malfoy for something …"**

"And you soon will." Harry smiled.

**"You be careful, Arthur," said Mrs. Weasley sharply as they were bowed into the bank by a goblin at the door. "That family's trouble. Don't go biting off more than you can chew -"**

**"So you don't think I'm a match for Lucius Malfoy?" said Mr. Weasley indignantly, but he was distracted almost at once by the sight of Hermione's parents, who were standing nervously at the counter that ran all along the great marble hall, waiting for Hermione to introduce them.**

People held back snickers.

**"But you're Muggles!" said Mr. Weasley delightedly.**

**"We must have a drink! What's that you've got there? Oh, you're changing Muggle money. Molly, look!" He pointed excitedly at the ten-pound notes in Mr. Granger's hand.**

**"Meet you back here," Ron said to Hermione as the Weasleys and the twins were led off to their underground vaults by another Gringotts goblin.**

**The vaults were reached by means of small, goblin-driven carts that sped along miniature train tracks through the bank's underground tunnels.**

**Harry enjoyed the breakneck journey down to the Weasleys' vault, but felt dreadful, far worse than he had in Knockturn Alley, when it was opened.**

"That's it, we're sending money to the Weasley vault. No arguments." Alex said firmly as Ginny made to open her mouth to argue.

**There was a very small pile of silver Sickles inside, and just one gold Galleon. Mrs. Weasley felt right into the corners before sweeping the whole lot into her bag. Harry felt even worse when they reached his vault. He tried to block the contents from view as Alex moved to hastily shoved handfuls of coins into a leather bag.**

"Don't feel guilty." Arthur said.

"We do." Harry and Alex muttered.

**Back outside on the marble steps, they all separated. Percy muttered vaguely about needing a new quill. Fred and George had spotted their friend from Hogwarts, Lee Jordan. Mrs. Weasley and Ginny were going to a second-hand robe shop. Mr. Weasley was insisting on taking the Grangers off to the Leaky Cauldron for a drink.**

**"We'll all meet at Flourish and Blotts in an hour to buy your schoolbooks," said Mrs. Weasley, setting off with Ginny. "And not one step down Knockturn Alley!" she shouted at the twins' retreating backs.**

"We didn't."

**Harry, Alex, Ron, and Hermione strolled off along the winding, cobbled street. The bag of gold, silver, and bronze jangling cheerfully in Alex's pocket was clamouring to be spent, so she bought four large strawberry-and-peanut-butter ice creams,**

"That's nice." Luna commented.

**which they slurped happily as they wandered up the alley, examining the fascinating shop windows. Ron gazed longingly at a full set of Chudley Cannon robes in the windows of Quality Quidditch Supplies until Hermione dragged them off to buy ink and parchment next door.**

The hall filled with half sniggers, half looks of horror.

**In Gambol and Japes Wizarding Joke Shop, they met Fred, George, and Lee Jordan, who were stocking up on Dr. Filibuster's Fabulous Wet-Start, No-Heat Fireworks,**

Filch glared along with Molly but McGonagall was hiding a smile.

**and in a tiny junk shop full of broken wands, lopsided brass scales, and old cloaks covered in potion stains they found Percy, deeply immersed in a small and deeply boring book called Prefects Who Gained Power.**

**"A study of Hogwarts prefects and their later careers," Ron read aloud off the back cover. "That sounds fascinating . . . ."**

The snorts where poorly suppressed.

**"Go away," Percy snapped.**

**"'Course, he's very ambitious, Percy, he's got it all planned out ... He wants to be Minister of Magic. . . " Ron told the twins and Hermione in an undertone as they left Percy to it.**

Fudge's head snapped up, suddenly more alert.

"Paranoid much?" Daphne muttered to Alex, both of them snickering.

**"He'd be an organized one though." Alex grinned, "I mean, who else do you know wears their badge's during holidays?"**

"I pride myself in that, Miss Potter." Percy said formally, then smiled when Alex snorted.

**An hour later, they headed for Flourish and Blotts. They were by no means the only ones making their way to the bookshop. As they approached it, they saw to their surprise a large crowd jostling out side the doors, trying to get in. The reason for this was proclaimed by a large banner stretched across the upper windows:**

**GILDEROY LOCKHART**

**will be signing copies of his autobiography**

**MAGICAL ME**

**today 12:30 P.m. to 4:30 P.m.**

A lot of people groaned and wrinkled their nose.

**"We can actually meet him!" Hermione squealed. "I mean, he's written almost the whole booklist!"**

Hermione gave a sheepish expression, while Viktor asked, "Almost?"

**"Oh 'Mione, don't tell me you actually like the ponce?" Alex whined, but Hermione ignored her.**

Many eyebrows shot up.

**The crowd seemed to be made up mostly of witches around Mrs. Weasley's age. A harassed-looking wizard stood at the door, saying, "Calmly, please, ladies ... Don't push, there ... mind the books, now. . . . "**

**Harry, Alex, Ron, and Hermione squeezed inside. A long line wound right to the back of the shop, where Gilderoy Lockhart was signing his books. They each grabbed a copy of The Standard Book of Spells,Grade 2 and sneaked up the line to where the rest of the Weasleys were standing with Mr. and Mrs. Granger.**

"Nicely done." said Fleur.

**"Oh, there you are, good," said Mrs. Weasley. She sounded breathless and kept patting her hair.**

The laughter couldn't be helped.

**"We'll be able to see him in a minute ..."**

**Gilderoy Lockhart came slowly into view, seated at a table surrounded by large pictures of his own face, all winking and flashing dazzlingly white teeth at the crowd.**

A lot of people looked sick and Lee mimed vomiting to laughter.

_Filthy brats, we'll never get to the good stuff. _Umbridge thought bitterly.

**The real Lockhart was wearing robes of forget-me-not blue that exactly matched his eyes; his pointed wizard's hat was set at a jaunty angle on his wavy hair.**

Some people nearly were sick.

**"Ugh, maybe he's a woman in disguise. That would be the only explanation to all the girly colors." Alex whispered to Ron and Harry, and they snickered,**

Everyone else in the hall downright laughed (bar pro Lockharts).

**but Hermione had heard her this time, and elbowed Alex in the side.**

More snorts.

**A short, irritable-looking man was dancing around taking photographs\ with a large black camera that emitted puffs of purple smoke with every blinding flash.**

**"Out of the way, there," he snarled at Ron, moving back to get a better shot. "This is for the Daily Prophet -"**

**"Big deal," said Ron, rubbing his foot where the photographer had stepped on it.**

A lot of people nodded.

**Gilderoy Lockhart heard him. He looked up. He saw Ron and then he saw the twins. He stared. Then he leapt to his feet and positively shouted, "It can't be Harry and Alexis Potter?"**

"So it was your fault!" Both Harry and Alex cried, pointing an accusing finger at the redhead, who didn't look the least bit sorry. In fact, Ron was more than amused.

**The crowd parted, whispering excitedly; Lockhart dived forward, seized Harryand Alex by their arms, and pulled them to the front.**

Remus let out a growl.

**The crowd burst into applause.**

**Harry's face burned as Lockhart shook his hand for the photographer, who was clicking away madly, wafting thick smoke over the Weasleys, and Alex glared as he free hand rested itself over her shoulders.**

Theo's eyes narrowed, wrapping his own arm around Alex's waist.

**"Nice big smile, you two," said Lockhart, through his own gleaming teeth. "Together, you two and I are worth the front page."**

Fleur huffed. "Zey are worzit on zeir own, zey don't need zome worzless preetty boy to help zem." she said, her voice was full of distaste.

**When he finally let go of Harry's hand, Harry could hardly feel his fingers. He tried to sidle back over to the Weasleys, but Lockhart threw an arm around his shoulders like he did Alex (who was still trying to discreetly move away) and clamped him tightly to his side.**

"Idiot." Many chorused.

**"Ladies and gentlemen," he said loudly, waving for quiet. "What an extraordinary moment this is! The perfect moment for me to make a little announcement I've been sitting on for some time! When young Harry and Alex here stepped into Flourish and Blotts today, they only wanted to buy my autobiography - which I shall be happy to present them now, free of charge -" The crowd applauded again.**

A few looked bewildered.

**"They had no idea," Lockhart continued, giving Harry a little shake that made his glasses slip to the end of his nose, and Alex a squeeze on her shoulder that made her want to run away screaming (or at least hex the man),**

"No doubt you would have." said Oliver.

**"that they would shortly be getting much, much more than my book, Magical Me. They and their schoolmates will, in fact, be getting the real magical me. Yes, ladies and gentlemen, I have great pleasure and pride in announcing that this September, I will be taking up the post of Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry!"**

"What?" The adults shouted.

"He was an idiot." Sirius

"He couldn't use a disarming charm." Arthur

"No wonder they were so far behind." Remus.

The teachers silently agreed with all statements, when the students added their two cents in.

"That man was utterly useless." Astoria

"Couldn't even block Professor Snape's disarming charm." Theo

"Such a stickler for fame." Alicia

"Such a girly ponce." Blaise

**The crowd cheered and clapped and Harry found himself being presented with the entire works of Gilderoy Lockhart. Staggering slightly under the weight of both his and Alex's books, he managed to make his way out of the limelight to the edge of the room, where Ginny was standing next to her new cauldron.**

**"You and Ron have these," Harry mumbled to her, tipping the books into the cauldron. "We'll buy our own -"**

**"But -"**

**"Bet you loved that, didn't you, Potter?" said a voice the twins had no trouble recognizing. Harry straightened up and found himself face-to-face with Draco Malfoy, who was wearing his usual sneer.**

**"Famous Harry Potter and his bloody sister," said Malfoy. "Can't even go into a bookshop without making the front page."**

"It's not like we wanted it!" Harry and Alex cried.

**"Leave him alone, he didn't want all that!" said Ginny.**

The twins and Ginny blinked as the others began to laugh.

**It was the first time she had spoken in front of Harry. She was glaring at Malfoy.**

**"Potter, you've got yourself a girlfriend!" drawled Malfoy. Ginny went scarlet as Ron and Hermione fought their way over, Hermione clutching a stack of Lockhart's books. Alex, who had managed to escape from the ponce himself,**

"He held you back?" Viktor asked.

Alex winced, "It'll probably be mentioned later why he seems so keen on bothering me more than Harry."

**stopped next to her brother and ****crossed her arms, a hand discreetly reaching inside her robes for her wand just in case.**

**"Oh, it's you," said Ron, looking at Malfoy as if he were something unpleasant on the sole of his shoe. "Bet you're surprised to see Harry and Alex here, eh?"**

Malfoy snorted, "I didn't know what you meant until now."

**"Not as surprised as I am to see you in a shop, Weasley," retorted Malfoy. "I suppose your parents will go hungry for a month to pay for all those."**

Malfoy winced again and begrudgingly apologized to the Weasley family, to to the children's astonishment.

**Ron went as red as Ginny, and started toward Malfoy, but Harry and Hermione grabbed the back of his jacket.**

A regular occurrence, went through most peoples heads.

**Alex stepped forward, her hand tightly clutching the ebony wood of her wand. "Malfoy, I'm warning you . . . "**

**"What are you going to do, Potter?" taunted Malfoy,**

"She's going to hex your bits off." Theo.

"Slap you in the face?" Marcus.

"Break your nose?" Adrian.

**"Slap me? Hex me? Can't do it in a shop full of people, can you? It would ruin your perfect Golden Girl reputation."**

"Don't tempt her." Tracey quipped.

**"Oh, I was just going to drag you into an abandoned alleyway and curse you into oblivion, making sure no one could ever find your mangled body." she drawled sarcastically, glaring up at him.**

**It was only then she noticed how close they were,**

"Ah, your teenage hormones are peeking in." Daphne grinned, earning her a slap in the arm from Alex.

**and was tempted to take a step back. But she couldn't let him think that he intimidated her.**

**"Ron!" said Mr. Weasley, struggling over with Fred and George. "What are you doing? It's too crowded in here, let's go outside."**

**"Well, well, well - Arthur Weasley."**

**It was Mr. Malfoy. He stood with his hand on Draco's shoulder, sneering in just the same way.**

"And others wonder why I called you Lucius junior." Harry sighed. People snorted.

Alex laughed, "Oh yeah. I told Daphne about that. We were laughing so much, Parkinson didn't say a word to us all night."

"You actually managed to shut her up?" Hestia Carrow, one of the Slytherin girls who knew Pansy well, asked in astonishment.

Pansy huffed at them.

**"Lucius," said Mr. Weasley, nodding coldly.**

**"Busy time at the Ministry, I hear," said Mr. Malfoy. "All those raids ... I hope they're paying you overtime?"**

**He reached into Ginny's cauldron and extracted, from amid the glossy Lockhart books, a very old, very battered copy of A Beginner's Guide to Transfiguration.**

Harry and Alex's eyes narrowed.

**"Obviously not," Mr. Malfoy said. "Dear me, what's the use of being a disgrace to the name of wizard if they don't even pay you well for it?"**

There was an uproar from majority of the hall.

**Mr. Weasley flushed darker than either Ron or Ginny.**

**"We have a very different idea of what disgraces the name of wizard, Malfoy," he said.**

**"Clearly," said Mr. Malfoy, his pale eyes straying to Mr. and Mrs. Granger, who were watching apprehensively. "The company you keep, Weasley ... and I thought your family could sink no lower…'**

Umbridge nodded her agreement, when the goblet in front of her exploded.

Alex caught her brother's eye as he pocketed his wand, and Harry grinned.

**There was a thud of metal as Ginny's cauldron went flying; Mr. Weasley had thrown himself at Mr. Malfoy, knocking him backward into a bookshelf.**

"GO MR. WEASLEY!" People in the room, bar the obvious ones, cheered.

**Dozens of heavy spell books came thundering down on all their heads; there was a yell of, "Get him, Dad!" from Fred or George;**

"Me." said George.

**Mrs. Weasley was shrieking, "No, Arthur, no!"; the crowd stampeded backward, knocking more shelves over; "Gentlemen, please - please!" cried the assistant, and then, louder than all. "Break it up, there, gents, break it up -"**

**Hagrid was wading toward them through the sea of books. In an instant he had pulled Mr. Weasley and Mr. Malfoy apart. Mr. Weasley had a cut lip and Mr. Malfoy had been hit in the eye by an Encyclopedia of Toadstools.**

The Gryffindors whooped.

**He was still holding Ginny's old Transfiguration book. He thrust it at her, his eyes glittering with malice.**

Harry and Alex exchanged a look, and both nodded.

**"Here, girl - take your book - it's the best your father can give you -"**

**Pulling himself out of Hagrid's grip he beckoned to Draco and swept from the shop.**

**"Yeh should've ignored him, Arthur," said Hagrid, almost lifting Mr. Weasley off his feet as he straightened his robes. "Rotten ter the core, the whole family,**

Hagrid winced. "Sorry."

"We really do seem that way, don't we?" Malfoy shook his head.

**everyone knows that - no Malfoy's worth listenin' ter - bad blood, that's what it is - come on now - let's get outta here."**

**The assistant looked as though he wanted to stop them leaving, but he barely came up to Hagrid's waist and seemed to think better of it. They hurried up the street, the Grangers shaking with fright and Mrs. Weasley beside herself with fury.**

**"A fine example to set for your children . . . brawling in public . . . what Gilderoy Lockhart must've thought -"**

"Like anyone gives a fuck what he thinks." The twins chorused at once.

"Hear, hear!" chorused all the anti-Lockharts.

**"He was pleased," said Fred. "Didn't you hear him as we were leaving? He was asking that bloke from the Daily Prophet if he'd be able to work the fight into his report - said it was all publicity -"**

**But it was a subdued group that headed back to the fireside in the Leaky Cauldron, where the twins, the Weasleys, and all their shopping would be travelling back to the Burrow using Floo powder.**

"Bet you were happy." Theo laughed and was cut off by Alex's lips on his. His eyes widened before fluttering closed, moving his lips against hers.

People were cheering and wolf-whistling, when Umbridge interrupted them with a loud, shrill, "hem, hem!"

Alex pulled away, smirking at Theo's dazed expression.

**They said good-bye to the Grangers, who were leaving the pub for the Muggle street on the other side; Mr. Weasley started to ask them how bus stops worked, but stopped quickly at the look on Mrs. Weasley's face.**

Molly shook her head fondly.

**Harry was about to step into the grate when Alex pulled him back and turned him to face her. She took off his glasses and put them safely in her pocket before pushing him back towards the grate.**

**Harry chuckled before helping himself to Floo powder. It definitely wasn't his favourite way to travel.**

People laughed and agreed.

"Chapter."

"I'll read." Charlie said, snatching the book from his brother.

* * *

**I hope you all liked this chapter. Anyways, please review!**

**~Cassandra**


End file.
